Appendix ( B) N° - 2. Appendix ( B) X8i 2. Appendix ( B) N° 13. c ( Ireland.) S U P P L E M E N T to the Ninth Report of the fPoft had died, without leaving fufficient funds to fulfil his engagement with fuch of' his Correspondents as had paid for their Newspapers in advance, he was obliged, on fucceeding to the Road, to give credits to a much greater extent than had been the practice, the Public being unwilling to deal with him on any other terms, and therefore he flawed his income at what he conceived the Road, under fuch circum- ftances, was likely to produce, and by fo much as it was underrated in his Return, taking the circulation not to have been overrated, it was in favour of the Public. Mr. William Maturin, the Clerk of the Munfter Road, returned his average for the three years 011 a circulation of 21 quires 10 iheets, producing X- 378. o. 6. He ftates, that he has no books of Account relating to his Road of an earlier date than about the middle of the 3' ear 1800 ; but he produced to us a paper, which he accidentally difcoverqd fince the commencement of this inveftigation, and which he appears to have ufed while he was making up his original Return, for the purpofe of entering 011 it his receipts and payments as he extracted them from books or other documents. Among the payments to Printers for Newspapers, as fhown by this document, there appears to be a blank left for the funis paid for the Paper called the Evening Poft, as if I10 did not then know the amount thereof, though it muft have been afterwards afcertained to enable him to complete his Return ; and the inference to he deduced from the view of this original document, " that fuch Return was made vp from Accounts of their actual receipts and payments," ( as the Clerk fta'es in his evidence to have been) is corroborated by our finding that the funis aftuallv paid for the E veil lag Poll in the three years ending 5t. l1 January 1801, of which we have an exaft Account, together with thofe fet forth as paid for other Papers, and a fum of £. 50. per annum for the expence of management, being deducted from his receipts within the fame period, would leave a balance of net receipts, the average of w hich is only is. 3d. fhort of the fum he returned as his average profit for the three years. The Account of the fums fo paid, for the Evening Poft was furnilhed to us and verified upon oath, by a perfon to whom the management oi' the affairs ofthe Proprietor cf that Paper had been committed by the Court of Chancery, and who being refponfible to that Court was confequently obliged to be accurate in keeping his Accounts. The profits, as fet forth in this Return, rate at about 14.?. 1 \ d. per Paper, but if the number of Papers be afcer- tained by the payment to Printers ( to which we cannot lbe any objection) allowing the price of Papers to he three findings and fourpencc a quire before the increafe of the ftamp duty in March 1798, when the price was railed to 6 s. & d. a quire* Appendix( B) N; 0i5, the circulation would be 18 quires 5 papers a- night, and the rate of profit, would be 16s. 7 \ d. a Paper; accounting for the produce of, the Road in the manner ufed by this Clerk, this inaccuracy will be found to have operated againft the Public; we do not, however, therefore impute fraud to this Officer, who appears, from the document fubmitted to us, to have been in oilier refpofts extremely • ex aft in making up his Return; but we confider it as the re full ofthe fallacious mode of computing the circulation of Papers which was adopted. I11 confequence ofthe death of Mr. Harrifon, the Clerk of the Connaught Road, avid his Representatives being unable, as they ftate, to fumhh any fatisfaftory Accounts ofthe produce of that Road, we are not particularly informed of the mode in which he made up either his original or his fubfequent Accounts, but we think it may be fairly prefumed that he aoted on the fame principle as the other Clerks. From the examination of the original Returns of the Clerks of the Leinfter, Munfter, and North Roads, it appears that they proceeded on the principle of returning as their profits the amount of their net receipts, or the balance remaining after the funis paid to Printers for the purchafe of Newspapers, and the expence of managing the bufinefs of their Roads, had been deducted from their grofs receipts. If they wore juftified by the terms of the arrangement in the. principle on which they framed their original Returns ( as we conceive them to have been) fo long as circumftances remain the fame, and that llie Roads continued to be managed as they had been during the period of the Returns, it might be fairly prefumed that the rate of profits on an average of their amount, in a number of years, could not vary materially from that which the Roads appeared to have produced on the average of tho three years, and therefore it cannot be inferred that the Clerks were actuated by improper motives in accounting fubfequently for their profits at that rate. But " in deciding upon the conduft of thofe Officers, the Poftniafters General appear to have confidered them as chargeable with the grofs profits of their Roads, and that their claim of compenfation in each year fhould have been founded 01) the deficiency of fuch profits. Rv grols profits is meant that 0} Co ® ® Appendix ( A) N'l 6. Appendix ( A) l£ c 15 - 21. iirm TJWR a, Mm mook MU < fleloAW/,' number eirfii^ ^ onikvuW' | are aniM10' H riwiltW;"' vvKlriH"'' „ B„ j. r J RLfl JMtKilliWifiJllli hi! 1 * • I • • f .<: < '- rfilft^ f wt'ijj'..... .. income K^ ff^- mm jie. 1.4 V".! 3l> I! Hr I fee aotrm^ i. vouched for the tnr • fclaitoii '"' wnatikt ^ ftfefn,, ' JPWAr^ Afrott '""' Itrrjiii J ) sSftf