No, II.] ON FEES, GRATUITIES, & c.-( Poft- Office.) ^ in London, and the Poflage charged to the Englifh Account; in like manner the Lift Let, ers receivef5 Great Br, tain are returned to the London Poft O^ co ™ I V SgSAcclf DuUin " » on tTS Rolert Alexander, ('. has. Steuart Hawthorne. John Hamilton. No. ii. The Examination of GRAVES CHAMNEY SWAN, Esq. taken upon Oath the 2ill March, and 21ft and 17th of April 1809. This Examinant faith, That he is Treafurer to the Poft Office, and has been fo fince January 1S0S ; he has given fecunty with two fureties to the amount of fifteen thoufand pounds. The Eftablifhment' con fifts ot himfelf as Principal, and two Clerks. His duty is to receive the Revenues belonging to the Poft Office, and to make all authorized payments thereout. Every fecond day the Treafurer receives a Docket from the Inland Office, containing the charge for Inland Portage againft the Letter Carriets and the Alphabet for the two preceding days, and from the Britifti Mail Office the Packet- book for the British Mails by Holyhead inwards; from this Docket and bouk he enters in the Letter Carriers pay- book,' the daily charges for Britifh and Inland Poftage againft the Letter Carriers and Alphabet. From the Accountant General's Office he receives:. weekly a Docket, containing the charge againft the Window man for poft- paid Let- ters. The Letter Carriers pay their charges three times in each week, viz. on Tuefday, Thurfday, and Saturday, paying 0: 1 Tuefday night the charges of Saturday and Monday, on ' 1 hurfday the charges of Tuefday and Wednefciay, and on Saturday the charges of Thurfday and Friday. The Alphabet- keeper is required to pay his charge every Monday, being always allowed to retain one week's charge, and the Window- man is likewife required to pay his balance on the fame day, being allowed to retain a fortnight's charge. Examinant keeps a book containing an Account againft the Letter Carriers of each divifion ; in each Account are entered on the debit fide the daily charges againft the Letter Carriers, and on the credit fide' the feverai payments made by them. The remittances from the Deputy Poflmafiers, whether ill cafh or bills, are handed to the Treasurer by a Clerk in the Secretary's Office, to whom they are made. Bills cf Exchange when accepted are lodged in the Bank of Ireland to the credit cf the Poftmafters General, as is the cafh as foon as received, but the poft; bills of private bankers are, after acceptance, returned to the Secretary's Clerk, by whom they are retained till due, and then re- delivered to the Treafurer, and immediately lodged as cafh in the Bank ; this practice arifes from the Treafurer not being permitted to acknowledge the receipt of any bills not immediately lodged in bank, which cannot be done with the poft bills of pri- vate bankers, the bank of Ireland refufing to receive them as a lodgment on account of the trouble attending their acceptance, when they are numerous and for fmall fums. Examinant keeps two pafs- books with the Bank, one a bill pafs- book, the other a cafh pafs book. In the bill pafs- book is entered the date and amount of each bill falling due during the week; in the cafh pafs- book is entered on the credit fide all payments in cafh made to ihe Bank, and the total amount of bills in cafh during the week. On the debit fide is entered the drafts on the Bank drawn bv the Poflniafter General, or in his abfence hy the Treafurer, counterfignrd by a Lord of the Treafury, or by the Chief or Under Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. From the bill pafs- book he fends to the Remittance Clerk a weekly return of the Deputies bills cafhcd during the week. Examinant furnifhes fo the Accountant Geneial a Weekly Ablti att of his receipts from the Letter Carriers, the Alphabet and Window- man, on account of De- puties remittances, Penny Poft balances and drafts on the Bank, if any, in the preceding week, and all other receipis under the head of Mifcellaneous Receipts, fuch as Deputies arrears, and Letter Carriers arrears, which for the moft part come to the Treafurer's hands through the Solicitor to the Poft Office ; he alfo makes up an Abftraft of his receipts and payments* of which five copies are made out and tranfmitted, one copy to the Lords ol the Freafury, one to the Irifh Exchequer Office in London, one to the Cuflom- houfe, and two to the Secretary, one for his own ufe and the other for the Poftmafter General. This Abftrafl: fhould be fent to the Accountant General for his examination and fignature, as fliould alfo the Bank Czfh pafs- book, to inform him of the amount of the Treafurer's payments into, and drafts on the Bank, but latterly neither this Abfiraft nor the cafh pafs- hook have been fo fetit, in ton- fequence of the Accountant General's ilinefs and inability to attend his office, and no perfon being there authorized to execute this part of his duty in his absence. Besides this Weekly AbftraQ, Examinant makes up a Quarterly Account of his receipts and payments, but this Account is not furnifhed to or examined bv the Accountant General but remains in his own Office. The payments made by the Treafurer arc as follows, viz.: into the Treasury, from lime to time according as there are funds for that purpofe; Incident Bills, these he pays on feeing diem f. gned by the Accountant General as examined, and by the Secretary as allowed. The Maries of the Dublin ejlablijhment and the Packet establishment, which are made up by the firft Clerk in the Secretary's Office, and paid on his return without the signature 01 the be- ( 54-) K