Minute Book: March 1715

Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 29, 1714-1715. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1957.

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'Minute Book: March 1715', in Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 29, 1714-1715, (London, 1957) pp. 254-259. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol29/pp254-259 [accessed 23 April 2024]

March 1715

March 4. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin.
Mr. Walpole [Paymaster of Guards, Garrisons and Land Forces, is] called in. His memorial [for money for same] is read. [My Lords] ordered thereupon as followeth: viz.
£ s. d.
Out of Contributions on the Lottery Act [13 Anne, c. 18] pro anno 1714. in further part of 386,427l. 17s. 10d. for Guards and Garrisons &c. to 25 Dec. 1714 upon account 10,000 0 0
in further part of 42,785l. 14s. 4d. granted for Chelsea Hospital and outpensioners and for forage for the Dragoons in North Britain to Xmas 1714 upon account 11,000 0 0
in further part of 20,170l. 1s. 6d. granted for Forces at New York, Annapolis, Placentia and Bermudas to 25 Dec. 1714 upon account 3,000 0 0
in further part of 54,645l. 1s. 3d. granted for the Forces and Garrisons at Minorca to 25 Dec. 1714 upon account 2,000 0 0
in further part of 19,308l. 10s. 0d. granted for Forces at Jamaica and the Leeward Islands to 25 Dec. 1714 upon account 2,210 1 11
in full of 5,862l. 16s. 2d. granted for Half Pay to Officers by special warrant of her late Majesty to Xmas 1714 (being towards 86 days’ allowance of Half Pay to the said Officers from the 29th Sept. 1714 to the 24th Dec. following) 497 7 9
in full of 123,293l. 19s. 2d. granted for Half Pay to Officers of the Land Forces and Marines to Xmas 1714, viz. towards the same 86 days’ allowance of Half Pay to the said Officers 27,902 8 6
£56,609 18 2
Ibid., p. 74. Disposition Book XXIII, p. 54.
March 7. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
[Write to request] some of the Commissioners of the Stamp Duties to be here to-morrow morning about the debts of [owing to the Crown from] the [Stamp] Distributors.
Send to Mr. Clayton for an account of what is due to Mr. [Samuel] Edwyn [Usher of the Receipt of the Exchequer] for necessaries [by him delivered to the various Offices of the Receipt].
[My Lords order a] letter [of direction] for what [is] due on his Majesty's warrants [see supra, pp. 211–218] for the half year to Xmas 1713 due to several persons on pensions lately payable by Mr. Nicholas [out of the arrears of the late Queen's Civil List moneys]. Treasury Minute Book XXII, p. 75.
March 8. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin, Mr. Wortley.
Mr. Missing [is] called in. The contract between the Treasury Lords on the King's behalf and the said Mr. Missing for the victualling the Garrison at Gibraltar is read, agreed to and executed.
Sir Richard Sandford, Warden of the Mint, [is to be written to and] desired to attend the service of his Office.
Mr. John Gale, a Comm[issione]r of the Stamp Duties, hath [my Lords’] leave of absence for six weeks.
The Commissioners of the Stamp Duties [are] called in. My Lords tell them ‘tis observed that their Distributors [of Stamp] are very much in arrear and desire to know the occasion. The Commissioners say the Distributors employ many under-distributors who do not account above once in six months; that there are 42 Distributors who have one with another 1,500l. a year credit in stock: that they [the Commissioners] have sent a Surveyor into the country to examine their accounts and are taking what care they can to oblige the Distributors to a due account and payment of their money.
Mr. Gale, a Commissioner of the Stamp Duties, has [my Lords’] leave of absence for six weeks. Treasury Minute Book XXII, p. 76.
March 9. Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin, Mr. Wortley.
Several petitions are read and answers [and minutes of resolutions are] taken thereupon [and are endorsed thereon].
[My Lords direct an issue of] 10,000l. to the Cofferer of the Household for the Purveyors [to the Household].
A memorial is read from the Board of Ordnance for 12,000l. out of the money of the South Sea [Stock sales] subscriptions: [which is proposed to be] in further part of payment for the lands purchased at Portsmouth and Harwich [for the Ordnance for fortifications]: likewise for borrowing 7,000l. of the Bank upon a deposit of tallies. My Lords agree to the said memorial.
My Lords direct that the Treasurer of the Ordnance or his deputy do attend the Bank and desire them to advance 7,000l. for the service of the Ordnance upon a deposit of tallies and orders as follows: viz.
£
on hops anno 1711 [9 Anne, c. 13] 3,262
on candles anno 1710 [8 Anne, c. 5] 4,900
on the fifteenth 4s. Aid [10 Anne, c. 1] 900
£9,062
and if the Bank will lend the same my Lords agree that they shall be repaid the said 7,000l. within three months from the day of lending to the day of repayment, together with interest for the same after the rate of 5 per cent, per an. Ibid., p. 77.
March 15. Present: ut supra.
Mr. Burdus, Paymaster of the [late Queen Anne's] Civil List Lottery, [is] called in. His answer to Mr. Chamberlain, the Comptroller of that Lottery, is read wherein ‘tis alleged that Mr. Ch[amberlain] had said to him that they might get an advantage by agreeing together in keeping money ordered [to be imprested] into the [Lottery] Office in [the form of] Exchequer Bills; that he replied he was obliged to account upon oath for all money that should arise by interest on Exchequer Bills: that the said Mr. Burdus acquainted his clerk with what Mr. Ch[amberlain] had talked of and admonished him to have a care of any such practice.
His clerk is called in and being examined confirms the same.
My Lords send to Mr. Chamberlain to attend presently.
Mr. Chamberlain attending is called in. My Lord [Halifax] acquaints him with what Mr. Burdus has represented. Mr. Chamberlain denies it. My Lord [Halifax] asks Burdus whether he can swear to what he has alleged. He says he is ready to do it.
He withdraws and having prepared the draft of his affidavit and also Mr. Wickes, his clerk, they are called in again and having severally signed their papers they swear to the truth thereof.
Then Mr. Chamberlain is called in again. My Lord tells him that Burdus and his clerk have sworn to their informations. He desires to have copies of them and then withdraws. Ibid., p. 78.
March 18. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin.
Mr. Walpole [Paymaster of Guards, Garrisons and Land Forces] comes in. The Auditors of Imprests are called in. Mr. Walpole says as to the warrants for contingents [Army contingencies] he desires to know whether the Auditors will allow the payments [for such contingencies] if they are countersigned by the Secretary at War, or whether they [the Auditors of Imprests] will expect them to be countersigned by the Treasury Lords.
The Auditors reply that they shall expect the Treasury [Lords’] countersigning of all warrants for all payments of contingents exceeding the sum contained in the Establishment.
[Send a] letter to the Commissioners of Wine Licences to attend [my Lords] on this day week with a state of their Office.
Direct a process [to be issued] to entitle the King to the estate of Mr. Whitfeild, late Paymaster of Marines, towards answering the debt [to the King] owing by him on that account. Send [instructions to this effect] to Mr. Borret [the Treasury Solicitor].
[The draft of the] letter to the Secretary at War in relation to a petition of seven Irish Officers is read and approved.
[Send a] letter to the [respective] Receivers [General of Taxes] of Wales and Cornwall for an account of what money is in their hands.Ibid., p. 79.
1715.
March 25.		 Present: ut supra.
Mr. Danvers has [my Lords’] leave to go to the Bath for six weeks for recovery of his health provided there will be a sufficient number of Commissioners for the Salt Duties to carry on the business of the Board during his absence. Ibid., p. 80.
March 28. Present. Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin, Mr. Wortley.
A letter of this day's date from Mr. Charles Godolphin to Mr. Lowndes is read praying leave to go into the country, he having appointed a deputy and acquainted the Customs Commissioners with his [the said deputy's] name in case they should have any commands for him. My Lords agree to his request and he has leave to go into the country as he desires.
Upon reading a report from Auditor Harley concerning the salaries and incidents allowed by the Salt Duty Commissioners to their officers in the country in the year ended at Lady day 1710 my Lords are pleased to allow the same by their warrant upon the said report.
And whereas by an order made in June 1714 [see supra, Calendar of Treasury Books, Vol. XXVIII, p. 323, under date June 25] the Auditors [of Imprests] were directed to examine the salaries and incidents allowed by the Commissioners of the Salt Duties to their officers in the country for the four years from 1709 Lady day to 1714 Lady day and compare them with former years and to report their opinion thereupon and to have a warrant for allowing thereof if reasonable and to make observations on what might be thought unreasonable, and that from Lady day 1714 they should not allow of any augmentation therein without first obtaining a [Treasury] warrant for so doing; and the said Commissioners’ representation of the 24th inst. being read wherein they refer to another made by them in January last shewing the inconveniences that may happen to the revenue under their management if they should be obliged to obtain a warrant in every particular case happening for any augmentation, my Lords upon consideration of the whole matter do direct that the said Auditors do examine and compare the salaries and incidents allowed by the [Salt] Commissioners to their officers in the country (for all the years for which the accounts are not yet passed) with those of former years and report their opinion thereupon as to the reasonableness thereof and obtain a [Treasury] warrant before the same be inserted in the respective accounts: and the like as to all future accounts of the Salt Duties.
But my Lords do dispense with the Commissioners obtaining warrants in every particular case before they employ the necessary officers or pay the said reasonable incidents. Treasury Minute Book XXII, p. 81.
March 29. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin.
[Write a] letter to Lord Carnarvon to lay before my Lords a state of what is claimed and due to the Foreign Troops to the time of separation [from the Troops under British pay] and of what deductions are to be made thereout.
[My Lords appoint] Mr. Spence to be Comptroller of the Civil List Lottery [12 Anne, c. 11] and Mr. Ashhurst to be Comptroller of the Stamp Duties.
[Send word to the] Attorney General to be here to-morrow morning.
[Send] to the Auditors [of Imprests] for a state of Sir Roger Mostyn's account [as late Paymaster of the Marine Regiments] as it now stands and whether it will be duly prosecuted. Ibid., p. 82.
March 30. Present: Earl of Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William St. Quintin, Mr. Wortley.
[The Principal] Officers of the Mint are called in. They present to my Lords the account they have prepared pursuant to an order of the House of Commons of the gold and silver coined in the Mint between 25 March 1713 and 25 March 1715. [Commons Journals XVIII, pp. 23, 37–8.]
Sir Richard Sandford, Warden of the Mint, takes the oath of secrecy with respect to the new invention of rounding the moneys and marking the edges of them with letters or grainings or either of them, unless his Majesty, his heirs and successors shall otherwise command and direct the same.
Martin Bladen, Esq., Comptroller of the Mint, is likewise sworn to the same effect.
The papers relating to Mr. Lowther's demands as Governor of Jamaica [are ordered] to be referred to the Attorney General.
Upon reading a letter to my Lords from Mr. Hodges on behalf of the Master of his Majesty's Robes for 5,000l. for [the service of] that Office my Lord Halifax says that having moved the King some time ago in relation to the appointing money for the Robes, his Majesty did not think fit to sign any warrant for that purpose, but was pleased to say he would pay these expenses himself. Ibid., p. 83.
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