4 d. three far pounds three fhillings and four pence three farthings, in part of the part of faid principal fum of one million two hundred and four thou- 1,204,7861. 38. fand seven hundred eighty fix pounds three fhillings and four things, to the pence three farthings, to the faid cashier of the governor and bank of Engcompany of the bank of England, now or for the time being, land, &c, by way of impreft and upon account, to be by him applied and paid over, with fuch other monies to be raised as is hereafter mentioned, for discharging the faid principal fum of one million two hundred and four thousand feven hundred eighty fix pounds. three fhillings and four pence three farthings, and for redeeming the faid annuities payable after the faid rate of five pounds per centum per annum, amounting in the whole to fixty thousand two hundred thirty nine pounds fix fhillings and two pence per annum as aforefaid; and that the faid commiffioners of his Majesty's treasury, or any three or more of them now being, or the high treasurer, or any three or more of the commiffioners of the treafury for the time being, do caufe the faid fum of two hundred and four thousand seven hundred eighty fix pounds three fhillings and four pence three farthings, to be iffued and paid to the faid cashier accordingly, without any further or other warrant or authority to be fued for, had or obtained in that behalf; any former law or ftatute whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. IV. And to the end and intent that fufficient monies may be raised to make up the faid principal fum of one million two hundred and four thousand seven hundred eighty fix pounds three fhillings and four pence three farthings, and to complete the redemption of the faid annuities amounting to fixty thou-· fand two hundred thirty nine pounds fix fhillings and two pence per annum; be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That it fhall and may be lawful to and for the commiffioners of his Majefty's treasury, or any three or more of them now being, or the high treasurer, or any three or more of the commif- Treasury to fioners of the treafury for the time being, and they refpectively iffue out exare hereby authorized and impowered to prepare and make, or chequer-bills cause to be prepared or made at the exchequer, in such method not exceeding and form as they or he thall think moft fafe and convenient, any number of new, exchequer-bills containing one common fum or different fums in the principal monies, so as all the principal fums to be contained in fuch bills to be made forth by this act, do amount to one million of pounds fterling, and no more. Which bills are to bear an intereft of 2 d. per cent. per diem, &c. and be numbred arithmetically, &c. bills prepared by virtue of this act to be placed as cash in teller's office, &c. Bills amounting to one million in principal to be iflued out of the exchequer to the bank. &c. towards difcharging the principal of 1,204,786 1. 3 ŝ. 4 d. 3 fourths, &c. Uncancelled bills, &c. to pafs as current money in payment to and from collectors, &c. Receiver, &c. refufing to exchange fuch bills for current money, &c. liable to action, &c. Tallies to be delivered for payment or loan of bills, &c. Interest upon fuch bills, &c. Bills re-ifluable out of the exchequer, &c. Receivers general, &c. to keep books of account of monies received, 1,000,000!. &c. New bills to be made forth in lieu of bills filled up or defaced, &c. Treasury may caufe bills not exceeding 5000l. to be made forth, and placed as cafh in the exchequer, &c. Forging or counterfeiting exchequer bills, &c. Felony. E X P. XX. And whereas the feveral furpluses, exceffes and overplus 3 Geo. 1. c. 7. monies, commonly called the faid finking fund (which in and by the faid act made in the third year of his Majesty's reign were appropriated to and for discharging the principal and intereft of fuch national debts and incumbrances, as were incurred before the twenty fifth day of December one thousand seven hundred and fixteen, and were declared to be national debts, and were provided for by act of parliament, in fuch manner and form as should be directed or appointed by any future act or acts of parliament, to be discharged therewith or out of the fame) have ufually been computed at or about the feaft of Saint Michael the archangel in every year, and the last computation of the clear produce thereof, now lying before the honourable houfe of commons did terminate at or about the feast of Saint Michael the archangel one thousand feven hundred and twenty two: now to the end, intent and purpose that all the exchequer bills to be made forth by virtue of this act, not exceeding as aforefaid, may be paid off and discharged in such courfe and order as are hereafter in and by this act appointed in that behalf; and to the end the fame bills, or fo many of them as fhall from time to time remain undischarged, may the better obtain a currency for fuch time as they or any of them are hereby intended to be current, be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That the commiffioners of the treafury, or any three or more of them now being, and the high treasurer, or any three or more of the commiffioners of the treasury for the time being, fhall from henceforth cause the clear produce of the said several furpluffes, exceffes and overplus monies, commonly called the finking fund, to be computed and ftated half-yearly (to wit) at the feaft of the annunciation of the bleffed Virgin Mary, and the feast of Saint Michael the archangel in every year, until all the exchequer bills to be made forth by virtue of this act shall be fully paid off and difcharged, or money fufficient fhall be reserved for completely paying off and discharging the fame: the first of which accounts fo to be stated of the faid furpluffes, exceffes and overplus monies fhall terminate at the feaft of the annunciation of the bleffed Virgin Mary which fhall be in the year of our Lord one thousand feven hundred and twenty three, and the fubfequent accounts thereof fhall be made up and adjusted at every of the faid half-yearly feast-days, or as foon after as the accounts of the publick revenues, whereupon fuch stated accounts are to be formed, can be collected for that purpose. Produce of finking fund to be stated half-yearly, &c. XXI. And it is hereby enacted by the authority aforefaid, How applied. That all the monies of the faid furpluffes, exceffes and overplus monies, called the finking fund, which were produced at or before the faid feast of Saint Michael the archangel one thousand seven hundred and twenty two, which fhall remain over and above the said sum of two hundred and four thousand seven hun dred dred eighty fix pounds three fhillings and four pence three farthings, to be iffued out of the fame as aforefaid, (if any fuch be) and all the monies from time to time arifing of or for the faid furpluffes, exceffes and overplus monies, called the finking fund, which hereafter shall or ought to appear upon the making up and adjusting every half-yearly account or state of the produce of the fame as aforefaid, (except fuch monies of the faid finking fund, as are appropriated to any particular use or uses by any other or former act or acts of parliament in that behalf, and shall be payable or demandable before the end of every such half-year respectively) fhall, from time to time, as the fame shall arife at the faid receipt of exchequer, be iffued to fuch paymaster as is herein after mentioned, by way of impreft and upon account, for and towards the paying off and difcharging the faid exchequer-bills, which fhall have been made forth by virtue of this act, in their due course and order as they fhall be numbered and ftand in the faid regifter, and for or towards the charge of exchanging and circulating the said bills or any of them, and for or towards fuch other payments as are in and by this act directed or allowed to be made or difcharged out of the fame, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever, until all the said bills fhall be paid off, difcharged and cancelled, and the said other payments shall be fatisfied, or money fufficient shall be reserved for those purposes. Treasury to appoint perfons to discharge principal, arifing in courfe of payment, upon exchequer-bills, &c. Surplufles, &c. applied to the discharge of exchequer-bills, &c. Bills to be regiftred in courfe, &c. No undue preference in payment. Treafury to appoint falaries, &c. Treafury may contract with perfons for circulating and exchanging bills for money, &c. Contracts to be registred, &c. Contractors not liable to bankruptcy, &c. for that caufe only. No fee, &c. to be taken in the exchequer for any thing there done in purfuance of this act, &c. Interest upon bills not to be paid to any fum less than a penny, &c. Treasury may pay out of finking fund, the charges of making forth new bills, &c. Monies due upon bills loft, burnt or destroyed, to be fatisfied upon oath, &c. Bills paid off to be cancelled, &c. EXP. XXXIV. Provided always, and it is hereby likewife enacted Monies arifing by the authority aforefaid, that all the monies arifen or to arife from tinking into the exchequer of or for the faid furpluffes, exceffes and fund, how appropriated, overplus monies, commonly called the finking fund (except fuch monies thereof as are by this or any act or acts of this or any former feffion or feflions of parliament, fpecially charged upon the faid finking fund, or to be paid out of the fame, or out of any revenues or branches compofing the said finking fund) shall be appropriated, reserved and employed, to and for difcharging the principal and intereft of fuch national debts and incumbrances as were incurred before the twenty fifth day of December one thousand feven hundred and fixteen, and are declared to be fuch national debts as may be redeemed, and are provided for by act of parliament, in fuch manner and form as ihall be directed and appointed by any future act or acts of parliament 2. C. 24. 2. C. 35. 2 liament to be difcharged therewith, or out of the fame, and to none other ufe, intent or purpose whatsoever; any thing in this act contained to the contrary notwithstanding. XXXV. And whereas by an act of parliament of the first year of 1 Geo. 1. ftat. his Majesty's reign, intituled, An act for appointing commiffioners to take, examine and state the debts due to the army, feveral perfons therein named, were conftituted commiffioners for taking and flating the accounts, claims and demands therein mentioned, which act was to endure from the tenth day of September one thouSand Seven hundred and fifteen, to the tenth day of September one thousand feven hundred and fixteen; and by another act of the first 1 Geo. 1. ftat. year of his Majefty's reign, intituled, An act to appoint a commiffioner for taking, examining and ftating the debts due to the army, in the room of Thomas Smith, efq; deceased; and for continuing the former act until the tenth day of March one thoufand feven hundred and fixteen, several persons therein named, were conftituted commiffioners, with power to proceed in the examining and flating the accounts, and to do other things therein mentioned, from the ninth day of September one thousand seven hundred and fixteen, to the tenth day of March then next following: and by an aft of the third year of his Majesty's reign, intituled, An act to enable his Majefty to appoint commiffioners to take, examine, Geo. 1. c.17• state and determine the debts due to the army, it was enacted, That it should and might be lawful for his Majefty to grant to any perfons (whom his Majesty should think fit, not exceeding the number of feven) his commiffion under the great feal of Great Britain, with full power, at any time before the tenth day of March one thousand Seven hundred and feventeen, to take, examine and ftate the debts then remaining due to the army; and that it should and might be lawful to and for the commiffioners fo to be conftituted, or any four or more of them, to proceed to determine fuch accounts, claims and demands, as bad been taken and flated by the commiffioners appointed by the faid former acts, or any four or more of them, and also to take, state and determine fuch of the faid accounts, claims and demands, as were not fo taken and stated, and after fuch determinations respectively, to certify the fame to the paymaster of his Majesty's forces for the time being, or to the then late paymafter or paymasters for fuch refpective times as they were employed or concerned in the payment of her late Majefty's forces, and in which the faid debts, claims or demands became due and were contracted, and what should remain due upon fuch respective accounts, claims or demands, and to whom the fame was reSpectively due, in order to the faid paymasters making out debentures to the officers, engineers, gunners, and other perfons, to whom the monies fo certified to be due should respectively belong, which faid debentures the faid paymaster or paymasters respectively, were thereby directed and required to make out accordingly: and that the commissioners of the treasury, or any three or more of them, or the high treasurer for the time being, should order and appoint fuch a form and method of making out the faid debentures, as might beft tend to prevent the counterfeiting of the fame and whereas on the eighth day of February one thousand feven hundred and feventeen, James then lord viscount Stan hope, 6 Geo. I. c.17. 7 I. C. 30. hope, (afterwards earl Stanhope,) Thomas lord Torrington, John Wallop, efquire, (now lord Limington) and George Baillie, efquire, then commiffioners of his Majesty's treasury, did by an inftrument in writing under their hands, pursuant to the power to them given by the faid act of the third year of his Majesty's reign, approve a form and method of making out debentures in the manner thereby defcribed, and did order and appoint the faid method and form accordingly: and whereas by feveral acts of parliament, made and passed 3 Geo.1. c. 17. fince the faid act of the third year of his Majesty's reign, feveral per- 4 Geo. 1. c. 9. fons therein refpectively named have been conftituted commiffioners to 5 Geo. I. c. 14. examine, ftate and determine the debts due to the army, who were by Geo. 1. ftat. the fame acts respectively impowered to act in performance of the trufts in them refpectively repofed, without obtaining any new commiffion under the jaid great feal in that behalf: and whereas by one of the faid fubfequent acts which was made and passed in the fifth year of 5 Geo. 1. c.14. his Majesty's reign, it was enacted, that all certificates made out by virtue of that act, should be directed to the right honourable (James carl of Carnarvon (now duke of Chandos) or his deputy, or fuch person or perfons as the commiffioners of the treasury, or any three or more of them, or the lord high treasurer for the time being, should think fit to nominate and appoint; and the faid earl of Carnarvon, or his deputy, or the faid perfon or perfons fo to be nominated, were thereby directed and authorized to illue the debentures accordingly, as well for fuch fum or fums of money, as should appear to have arisen or become due to the respective claimants for any time, during which he was paymafter, as for any time or times before or fince: and whereas by an inftrument in writing, bearing date the fourth day of June one thousand feven hundred and nineteen, under the hands and feals of John Aiflabie, efquire, John Wallop, efquire, (now lord Limington) George Baillie, efquire, and William Clayton, efquire, then commiffioners of his Majesty's treasury, Thomas More, efquire, (who had acted and then continued to act as deputy to the faid James duke of Chandos in all cafes where debentures had heretofore been, or were by the faid act of the fifth year of his Majesty's reign, authorized to be made out by the faid duke, as late paymaster general of the army, or his deputy) was conflituted and appointed to make out debentures on all and every the certificates whatsoever, that were, Should or might be issued by the commiffioners appointed as aforefaid, upon or by virtue of the faid act of the fifth year of his Majesty's reign: and whereas by an act made and passed in the feventh year of 7 Geo. 1. flat. his Majesty's reign (being one of the acts for appointing commissioners 1. C. 30. to examine, fłate and determine the debts due to the army) it was enacted, That all debentures made out, or to be made out by any paymaster or paymaflers, or his or their deputy or deputies, in pursuance of any certificate authorized to be made cut by the commiffioners by virtue of that or any other act or a&s of parliament, for flating and determining the debts due to the army, should carry an annuity after the rate of four pounds per centum per annum, to commence from the twenty fourth day of June one thousand feven hundred and feventeen, and that the fame annuities should be payable out of the monies arifing or to arife from the cuftoms and other duties and payments, commonly call ed |