it was then charged with, and which was not so cleared
till Midsummer one thousand seven hundred and twelve last, then that
fund was to be applied to pay the interest till August the first, one
thousand seven hundred and sixteen, which interest amounted to about
seventy-seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-three pounds _per
annum_: and the said salt fund produceth but about fifty-five thousand
pounds _per annum_; so that no money was borrowed upon the general
mortgage in one thousand seven hundred and ten, except one hundred and
fifty thousand pounds lent by the Swiss cantons; but tallies were struck
for the whole sum. These all remained in the late treasurer's hands at
the time of his removal, yet the money was expended, which occasioned
those great demands upon the commissioners of the treasury who succeeded
him, and were forced to pawn those tallies to the bank, or to remitters,
rather than sell them at twenty or twenty-five _per cent_. discount, as
the price then was. About two hundred thousand pounds of them they paid
to clothiers of the army, and others; and all the rest, being above
ninety thousand pounds, have been subscribed into the South Sea Company
for the use of the public."

When the Earl of Godolphin was removed from his employment, he left a
debt upon the navy of ---- millions,[9] all contracted under his
administration,[10] which had no Parliament-security, and was daily
increased. Neither could I ever learn, whether that lord had the
smallest prospect of clearing this incumbrance, or whether there were
policy, negligence, or despair at the bottom of this unaccountable
management. But the consequences were visible and ruinous; for by this
means navy-bills grew to be forty _per cent_. discount, and upwards; and
almost every kind of stores, bought by the navy and victualling offices,
cost the government double rates, and sometimes more: so that the public
hath directly lost several millions upon this one article, without any
sort of necessity, that I could ever hear assigned by the ablest
vindicators of that party.

[Footnote 9: "Of millions" in original. "Of ---- millions" in 1775.
[W.S.J.]]

[Footnote 10: See "The Examiner," No. 45, and note in vol. ix. of this
edition, p. 295. [W.S.J.]]

In this oppressed and entangled state was the kingdom, with relation to
its debts, when the Queen removed the Earl of Godolphin from his office,
and put it into commission, of which the present treasurer wa