ficers to have a salary of 1007. per annum, and the ride officers 801.; an extra allowance of 201. per annum each being made to the latter for the keep of a horse. Finally, It is, we are aware, a matter of considerable difficulty to fix the proper number of officers, depending, as that number should do, as well on the numerical amount of the excise traders in Scotland as on the relative business done by each; it appears to us, however, so important that some maximum should be formed, with a view to check unnecessary expenditure under this head, that we have given the subject considerable attention. The number of traders under excise survey in Scotland, on the 5th July, 1824, was returned to us as follows; viz. On considering this account, and adverting also to the reduction that must take place in the occupation of the officers, when the number of surveys at present made in the stocks of dealers shall have been diminished, to the advantages that may result from apportioning the country into more convenient divisions, and to the officers that may be discontinued in the Highlands, on the establishment of the preventive force we have recommended, we think your Lordships may with great propriety limit the total number of officers for Scotland to 550. It will of course be necessary to discontinue officers in one collection, and appoint them to another, according to the varying circumstances of trade, and this should be done by the board of excise, without specific authority in each case. On the best information we can now obtain, however, we do not think the total number for Scotland should be allowed to exceed 550, without your Lordships' special sanction, nor do we think that sanction should be given until after extensive inquiries and the most deliberate consideration. Supervisors. 1st, The practice of requiring individuals to petition for promotion, a step necessary before an officer can obtain the rank of supervisor, appears to us open to great objection. In our view of the subject, promotion is intended for the benefit of the public service rather than for the advantage of the individual, and it should therefore depend on an inquiry into the abilities and industry of the respective parties, and not on their importunity. Notwithstanding the due collection of the excise revenue depends so much on the right conduct of the officers, it follows, from the present system, that if an individual should have formed improper connexions, or be in combination with traders against the revenue, and omit in consequence to petition the board for promotion, no special means are taken to discover his delinquency, the regular inquiry into the character and proceedings of any officer depending altogether on this previous petition. In our opinion, an inquiry should take place systematically, after a certain period of service, without any application from the officers; and the senior, if found able and industrious, should invariably be selected for promotion. A refusal to accept that promotion ought, we think, to be the subject of a distinct investigation, depending, as it appears to us it must, either on some error in the system, which fails to hold out the proper encouragement upon advancement, or upon some concealed misconduct or defect in the party, which should render him less entitled to confidence as an officer. We by no means intend to imply by this recommendation that promotion should be guided by seniority alone; we are fully aware of the disadvantages that have attended this system; at the same time, the duties to be performed in the excise department appear to depend so much more upon general honesty and integrity than on extraordinary exertion or great abilities, that, whether the interests of the public or the individual are concerned, we think it highly desirable for seniority so far to obtain as to entitle every individual entering this service to a distinct inquiry into his character and conduct, and to preclude the promotion of any junior officer in preference to a senior, on any ground other than the obvious advantage of the public revenue. 2d, In surveying the "divisions" of the officers, the "districts" of the supervisors will of course be re-modelled. Our inquiries have led us to believe that, at present, more is required from this class of officers in Scotland than they are well able to perform. Mr. Watson, a very respectable collector of excise, whom we examined on this point, states, "that he was ten years a supervisor, and "that he was employed about sixteen hours a "day." Mr. Cornwall, a sub-commissioner, states, "that in forming a district the board would expect a supervisor to be employed about 12 "hours a day." 66 Nothing can be less desirable for the maintenance of strict discipline, or lead to consequences more injurious to the revenue, than to require from the officers employed a greater degree of exertion than is usual in the class of life from whence they are taken, tending, as it evidently does, to force the intelligent and valuable officer, whose abilities enable him to obtain other means of employment, either to give up the service altogether, or to evade the regulations by the performance of his duty in a superficial and unsatisfactory manner. We cannot but hope that in re-modelling the districts this point will be duly considered, and an alteration made. 3d, With regard to the number of supervisors to be hereafter employed in Scotland, we think that if the time which is now necessary for many of them to occupy in their official duties be diminished, an increase rather than a reduction will be necessary, notwithstanding the relief that has been given by the cessation of the salt duties: we are disposed, therefore, to recommend to your Lordships to sanction an addition of six to the present establishment, making 75 in the whole convinced that the central board will not employ the full number, if at any time hereafter they shall not be found requisite. 4th. We recommend that the salaries of this class of officers, also, be assimilated to the same class in England, viz. 2007. per annum. We have less hesitation in proposing that the salaries of the officers and supervisors of excise in Scotland be raised to a level with those of England, as it is the unanimous opinion of the superior officers whom we have examined, and to whose evidence, on every question having reference to the receiving, paying, and accounting for the excise duties, we can with confidence refer your Lordships, that even in England the salaries of these two classes of officers are lower than their duties and responsibilities warrant. The additional annual expense, calculated on the numbers recommended for the future establishment in the several districts, will be about 8.5001; a considerable sum certainly, but one which we trust will be amply provided for by the different reductions it will be in our power to suggest in the progress of this Report. Collectors. 1st, A new arrangement of the collections should follow that of the districts and divisions. 2d, The alteration in the manner of paying the malt and spirit duties which we have proposed will enable at least two officers of this rank to be discontinued; and as the transfer of the import duties from the excise to the customs will render the collectors at Leith and Greenock unnecessary, we should, on the whole, be disposed to think that thirteen collectors would be amply sufficient for the receipt of the excise duties of Scotland, were it not for the suggestion made to us, that Edinburgh should be formed into a distinct collection: at present, in consequence, we believe, of its having been the seat of the head office, the duties are received by the cashier monthly, and checked in a mode different from the duties received in the country. We see no sufficient reason for this distinction: the different traders ought all to be on the same footing, as regards the time of paying their duties; and a system that is efficient in the country must be equally so in Edinburgh. The appointment of a collector for that city also will facilitate the execution of an arrangement we shall hereafter propose for the entire abolition of the office of cashier, and we cannot hesitate, therefore, to recommend it for adoption; the collector at Edinburgh to be allowed three clerks, as follows: The total number of collectors for Scotland will then be fourteen. 3d, The salaries of the collectors in Scotland are on an average rather higher than those of England; they have not, however, as in England, any allowance during the time they are on the receipt of the duties; and the consequence has been, we fear, that the period of this receipt has been shortened, with a view to diminish the unavoidable expenses attending it, to the injury, on some occasions, of the public service. We recommend, that the allowances made in England to the collectors, as well as to the super visors and other officers during their attendance on the receipt, should be extended to Scotland; and if this measure be taken, it appears to us the salaries of the collectors may be diminished. We propose, in consequence, the following establishment for adoption, as vacancies may occur; viz. below it, unless any well-founded objection | board, and that in consequence it is essential to should exist to the promotion of the individual. employ in it men of integrity and ability. If your Lordships concur in the several proposals we have made for arranging the district establishment of Scotland, the annual expense may be estimated as follows; viz. 14 Collectors, annual expense... £ 6,070 75 Supervisors 550 Officers...... 15,000 55,000 The following special observations occur to us in reference to this department in Scotland. 1st, That peculiar care is required in framing the directions of the board to the district of ficers, in order that they may be clear and accurate, and multiplied correspondence be thus avoided. 2dly, That, to enable these officers to devote their time and attention to the important duty of surveying traders, equal care is necessary that no accounts or documents are required from them not absolutely necessary. 3dly, That the present practice, according to which, if a trader applies to the board of excise on any subject, the answer is not sent direct from the secretary's office to the party, but for warded to the district officer, and delivered verbally, should be altered. This practice has been much complained of; and we think it due to the public that written answers should be sent to every applicant, unless they are very numerous, and the subject in each case the same; and even then the officers should be directed to produce to the trader the original answer of the board, and allow him to take a copy of it, if desired. The efficient performance of these duties will, we are aware, add to the business of the department; and it is on this view of the subject that, notwithstanding the transfer of the port duties to the customs, and the abolition of the salt duties, we are not disposed to recommend any diminution in the salaries of the several officers; and we propose the following establishment for your Lordships' sanction: Secretary £800 First clerk 500 Second ditto..... 350 Third ditto 300 Accountant General's Office. The establishment of this office was stated to be, on the 5th January, 1824, as follows; viz. Two accountants general, each......£350 £700 First accountant Second ditto.... Third ditto Fourth ditto 327 280 260 230 210 200 Carried forward.....£2,227 Seventh ditto Eighth and ninth ditto, each...... £120 £3,417 Brought forward..............£2,227 | In our view of the subject, it is much more de180 sirable that the individual at the head of the 240 office should communicate with the collectors, and 180 be immediately responsible to the board for the 540 due conduct of the business, and be allowed to 50 apportion it amongst the persons under him in the way he considers most consistent with their respective abilities, and with the proper execuThe material business performed in this office tion of the duties to be performed; and for this is to examine the different "vouchers" sent purpose we recommend that the individual placed from the respective districts, and the several at the head of this office should be denominated payments made; and to keep an accurate debtor" The Accountant General," and be considered and creditor account with each collector. From responsible to the board for the due execution of these accounts, and from the receipts and pay- the different duties that may be required from ments in Edinburgh, the accountants also frame his department. the general annual account of the commissioners of excise. They make out likewise the accounts required by parliament or your Lordships, and perform some other minor duties; in point of fact, however, they are to be considered as clerks to assist the commissioners (who are the responsible accountants) in all matters of account, and, as such clerks, they are in every respect under the direction of the board. It will be obvious to your Lordships, that the manner in which the accounts of the collectors are at present subdivided, as well as the numerous documents required from them, adds very considerably to the business of this office; the mode of entering these documents also, and keeping the different books of account, appears to us far removed from the simplicity and brevity which would be the result of a well-digested system of account. When it becomes the business of the accountant to ascertain, from the weekly accounts of the collectors, the actual receipts and payments on account of each duty only, and, having certified them to the board, to keep afterwards an ordinary cash account with each collector, their duties will be greatly reduced. The entry of the different documents may also be much abridged. A duplicate of the "voucher," by means of which the charge against the collectors and commissioners is raised, may at any time be obtained from the district officer's books; and should a receipt be lost, the payments made may also be proved from the collector's cash book, which ought to be a public document: one entry, therefore, of the substance of each voucher or receipt in Edinburgh is amply sufficient for every practical purpose, and all beyond this should be at once discontinued. The following establishment will, we think, be amply sufficient for this office, after the arrangements we have proposed shall be carried into effect; viz. Accountant general Second ditto.... .£450 350 300 250 Third ditto 200 By the constitution of this office, the individuals employed in it are altogether independent of the board of excise; their business is to check and control the charge of the different duties, and for this purpose the "vouchers" are sent to, and ultimately deposited in, the comptroller's office, and from them a certificate is granted to the auditor of the real amount for which the commissioners are debtors to the crown. practice, also, the receipts for payments or allowances are forwarded to the deputy comptroller, and authenticated by his signature, though the ultimate examination of the latter remains with We object likewise to the mode pursued in this department of making a permanent allotment of a specific business, of the accounts relating to one or two duties, to a single individual; it often happens, in consequence, that one or two individuals have more than they can perform, whilst others, who might assist them under the authority of the principal, are altogether unemployed; in cases of illness or temporary absence, likewise, it is very inconvenient. the auditor. In In order more effectually to perform the duty | and we recommend the following salaries for of comptrolling the accounts, it has been con- adoption; viz. sidered necessary that a great number of books should be kept in this office; several of these appear to be duplicates of books kept in the accountant's office; and many others will be altogether unnecessary after the proposed alteration in the mode of keeping the collector's accounts has been made. troller existed in Dublin at the time of our in Comptroller...... £500 250 120 £870 We take this opportunity of observing, with reference to the recommendations in our Seventh troller be established in Dublin, under regulaexpenditure of the Irish revenue, that a comp tions similar to those we have proposed for Edinburgh. No officer answering the description of comp-Report, that it is in our opinion desirable, as well with a view to an uniformity of practice quiries; and in our Seventh Report we have pro- as to an efficient control over the receipt and posed that much of the necessary business should be done under the direction of the accountant general. It is, however, necessary that this officer, in his capacity of clerk to the commissioners as accountants, should be so completely under the direction of the local board, that we doubt how far it will be in his power efficiently to exercise that independent control turned to us as follows; viz. over the receipt and expenditure of the department which is so essential to the security of the revenue. On a review of the subject, therefore, we think the separation of the two departments highly desirable, notwithstanding the increase of expense it will occasion; the comptroller acting, in that case, altogether under the authority, and corresponding directly with, the comptroller of the excise in London. The duties which should, in our opinion, be performed by the comptroller in Scotland are Auditor. The establishment of this office has been re Auditor Assistant auditor First clerk £500 200 100 70 £870 The auditor of the excise is appointed under the authority of the act 6 Anne, c. 26, and is altogether independent of the commissioners. It is, as before observed, the duty of the comptroller to certify to the auditor the amount of the duties that have been charged within the 1st, To ascertain that the vouchers for charg-year; and the auditor receives from the coming the several duties are correctly made up. 2dly, That neither the collectors nor any other officers make any payment without sufficient authority from the local board. 3dly, That the local board do not remit any duties, or order any payments or works contrary to the direction of, or without proper authority from, the central board. 4thly, That all bills for expenditure be checked by him, not only as it regards their clerical accuracy, but also as to the propriety of the several charges made for the work performed. The clerks in an office of this description ought not to be numerous, as the material part of the business is confined to the comptrolling and certifying documents prepared by other of ficers. The principal officer, as well as his clerks, should have access to all the books and documents in the accountant's office; a proceeding that, whilst it supersedes the necessity of many separate entries in the comptroller's office, will materially tend to the efficient cution of the duties to be performed. missioners, and carefully examines, the receipts and other documents of discharge, and ascer tains the balance. A general state of the ac count is then made up and forwarded to the exchequer, where it is examined, and ultimately entered in the office of the clerk of the pipe; from whence a quietus is granted to the commissioners of excise. We have already expressed our opinion on the expediency of consolidating the excise accounts of the United Kingdom, and subjecting them to the same audit: the adoption of this measure will necessarily lead to the discontinuance of the present proceedings in the Exchequer of Scotland; and it will at the same time enable the whole of the department of the auditor of excise to be abolished. In recommending this consolidation of the Scotch excise accounts, however, it is due to the present auditor to state, that he appears to have fulfilled the duties entrusted to him with great exe-zeal and accuracy; and, aided by the comptrollers' department, to have resisted with effect, on several occasions, a proposed expenditure of the public money which had not received the sanction of your Lordships or the barons of the Exchequer. The comptroller in Scotland is at present appointed by patent, and his business is performed by deputy. Under the new arrangement, this officer will, of course, be appointed by your Lordships, and be required to execute his duties in person, and give daily attendance. If this be done, the assistance of two clerks will, in our opinion, provide for all the business necessary; The form in which the annual account is now made up will be found in the Appendix: it will obviously admit of much simplification after the collectors' accounts have been consoli |