—— [ 3 ] To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament ajfembled. The NINTH REPORT of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments, which are or have been lately received in certain Public Offices in Ireland; and also, to examine into any Abuses which may exist in the same; and into the present Mode of receiving, collecting, issuing, and accounting for Public Money in Ireland. GENERAL POST- OFFICE. - PREVIOUS to the year 1784, the internal Duties of Poftage were collected in Englifh A61, 1 Ireland, under the authority of an A£ t of the Britiffi Parliament, the conti- 4th Geo- rniation of which being considered incompatible with the right of this country to Legislative Independence, an Act was palTed in that year by the Irifh Parliament, 23, 24. Geo. III. for granting certain Duties and Rates upon the poftage and conveyance of Letters cap. 17. and Packets within Ireland, and for eftablilhing a General Poft Office in the city of Dublin, with fubordinate Offices throughout the kingdom, to be placed under the controul and direction of a perfon or perfons to be appointed by His Majesty's Letters Patent, by the name and ftile of " His Majefty's Poftmafter General of Ireland." It was likewife provided that there ffiould be a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Receiver General, an Accountant General, a Refident Surveyor, and a Comp- troller of the Sorting Office, to be appointed in like manner by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Ireland; and that a Penny Poft ffiould be established for the conveyance of Letters within the diftance of four miles from the General Post; Office. All the other Officers belonging to the head Office, as alfo the Deputy Poftmafters in the Country, are appointed by the Poftmafters General in Ireland, in like manner as they appear to be appointed by the Poftmafters General in England. On the Eftabliffiment of the Iriffi Poft Office, an agreement appears to have been made with that of Great Britain, that until the Poft Office of Ireland ffiould eftabliffi Packet Boats for the conveyance of Letters and Packets from Ireland to Great Britain, they ffiould be conveyed at the expence of the latter, and the Poftage thereon received to the ufe of its Revenue, and that the Poft Office of Great Britain ffiould pay to the Poft Office of Ireland a fum of ,564,000 Britiffi, by quarterly payments, in lieu of the profits to be derived from thence. With the exception therefore of this fum of . § £ 4,000, which continues to be regularly paid by Great Britain, the Poft Office Revenue of Ireland is derived from the poftage and conveyance of Inland Letters and Packets alone. This Revenue is collected by the General and Penny Poft Offices in Dublin, by Deputy Poftmafters in the Country, and by the General Poft Office of Great Britain, which accounts to the Iriffi Poft Office for the Poftage appertaining to the Iriffi Revenue received in Great Britain, the Poft Office of Ireland accounting to that of Great Britain for its receipt of Britiffi Poftage. From a ftatement fubmitted to Government by the prefent Poftmafters General of Ireland foon after their appointment, they appear to have directed their earneft attention to the fyftem of management exifting in the General Poft Office, and with the view of corre& ing its defeats, they propofed to affimilate it in practice to that of Great Britain, and to adopt the fame checks as are there eftabliffied; we accordingly find that this Department has been almoft entirely new modelled, and its arrangements greatly improved, and hence the obfervations upon its prefent ftate muft neceffarily be greatly curtailed; conceiving it, however, to be our duty in confequence of the opinion that has fo generally prevailed of its Earls O'Neil and Clancarty. ( 540 A 2 mnmanagement,