( A.) 15.] Commiffioners on F E E S , G R A T U I T I E S , & c. cxvii evidently appears to them, that for the laft year the grofs profit of your Road, as acknowledged in the official Return m my poffcffion, and under which vou have claimed and aftually received compeniation for lofles afierted to have been fuftained, were far under- rated, and'a very great proportion remained unaccounted for and unacknowledged to have been derived ot your actual receipts, while you availed yourfelf of the liberality of Government, and obtained trom this Revenue fums of money called for apparently without juftice, and claimed under pretences that, as I am not commanded, 1 helitate to pronounce the nature of. In the courfe of this inveftigation, the refuit of which their Lordffiips could not forefee, they direct me to inform you, that from the nature of the privilege of w hich your fituation has entitled you to exercile the right, not being able to trace in the Office any lpecific inflru& ion from Government, illued at the period at which your income was liberally fecured to you, in the event ot failure of a certain produce, on which to proceed in eftablifliing the juftice of your Returns, and confequently of your claims for compenfation, they had recourfe to other means to attain the objeiii. What thefe means were I am not directed, nor is it neceffary to ftate to you; but fuffice it to fay, that from the Returns obtained through thefe means, it appears to'the Poftmafters General, that from the uumber of Papers purchaled by you from, and the turns paid by you to the Editors of two Prints, viz. The Correfpondent, a daily publication, and The Evening Poft, which has a circulation of but three days in the week, their Lordlhips conceive that your actual profit on thefe alone, during the year ending the 5th January 1609, far exceeded what you acknowledged to have been produced by the combined circulation of the Papers publiflied in Dublin, thel'e Prints in number amounting to eight, each bearing a very oppofite proportion in its annual circulation to the other. Your firft attention I am inftrudted to direift to this point, and the Poftmafters General defiie me to call on you for fuch an explanation as will fatisfy them, either that your Returns are correct, or that the Statements of the Editors, ( which comprize not only the number of Papers turniflied to you, but the precife fum paid for the fame) are falfe. Connected with the payments made to the Editors, I am defired to inform you, that their Lordfhips information, if correct, warrants them in calculating the emoluments derived from vour fituation at the following rate ; viz. for every Newspaper purchafed by you from the Proprietors, you paid during that year per annum for a Throe- day Paper £. 2. 1. 7. or at the higheft <£. 2. 1. 8. and for the fame you charged to your Correfpondent an annual fuin of £. 3. 8. 3. leaving a profit to your advantage of £. 1. 6. 8.; and that confequently for a print of a daily publication, a price was paid and a profit received of double the amount; reducing this profit on the above rate of calculation, you will find that for every quire or 25 fheets of paper purchased, you have paid 6s. 8c?. and for the fale of the fame you have charged to your Correipondent 10s. 11 \ d. leaving a net- profit to your advantage of 4 s. 2,\ d. for each 25 fheets ; and were it nccelfary towards eftablifhing the corre& nefs of their Lordfhips calculations, to reduce it to a ftill lower denomination, you will probably find that for each individual flieet of paper circulated in your Road you paid 3{</. and charged $ id. leaving a net profit in your favour of 2 d. Under thefe circumftances, the Poftmafters General defire me to require from you an immediate Statement of whatever you may have to alledge in extenuation of what they are forced in appearance to pronounce a concealment of profits, where a faithful difclofure of emoluments was expedtedand was oftenfibly returned, and more particularly that you will ltate, fo as to be able to fupport the fame on oath if required, the actual grofs profit derived by you during the above period from the purchafe of a Paper ( diftinguifhing between a three day and a fix day Paper) by the year to each Correfpondent. I am alio defired to require a certificate to be vouched on oath, if requifite, of the charges to which you conceive you were liable as management for the above year, for fupplying each Pauer for the twelve months, including in your Eftimate of thefe expences, only the unavoid- able charges for Clerks as well as for covers, and other articles of ftationary neceflary for tbe circulation of your Papers. In expectation of your very early anhver, r I am, bir, Your obedient fervant, ( Signed) Edward S. Lees, Secretary. ( A.) No. 15. Reply from Mr. Thomas Harrison to Mr. Lees's Letter of the 7th October 1809. General Poft Office, October nth, 1809. T v anfwer to vour letter of the 7th inftant, I have the honour to state to you for the IN ai xlwei ; to f General, that i feel the deepest regret in not having it in my information ot the \ oltniaite. 9 uene^ in the manner I could with, owing EE SEty SSSS Sfyou can mfemi them) 1 had to tranfadt and prevented my having any opportunity or leifure to attend to any part or have any knowledge