Generally orders are made by virtue of letters of Privy Seal, dormant letters of Privy Seal, letters patent, or general dormant letters patent, and even occasionally "by Act of Parliament," and this authorisation is recited in the Treasury money warrant on which the Auditor drew his order and which served as the intermediate step between the Privy Seal and the Auditor's order.

When signed by the Lord Treasurer or three of the Lords Commissioners the Auditor's order was forwarded to that one of the Tellers of the Exchequer on whom it was drawn. On this order, after it had been entered in the Order books of the Pell Office, and after the further formality of the letter of direction, the Teller paid the money, taking the payee's receipt.

The record of all the Auditor's orders thus drawn as above and countersigned by the Lords of the Treasury is contained in the Order Books. It is to be distinctly understood that this is the Treasury record of the Auditor's orders. On his side, the Auditor kept his own independent account of these orders, and a third parallel account of them was kept in the Pells' Order Books, both these latter representing the Exchequer side of the same sets of transactions. On the Exchequer side also, the original orders themselves are preserved in parcels or bundles entitled "Modern Tellers' Vouchers." But with the possible exception of these latter, which are comparatively unworkable for the historical student, the Treasury series of Order Books is of much greater continuity and extent, and consequently of greater value than the parallel Exchequer sets.

With regard to the period of origin of the Treasury series of Order Books there can be little doubt. The two

I 88141.

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parallel and corresponding sets of Order Books on the Exchequer side, viz. the Auditor's Order Book and the Pells Order Book are earlier in date of origin than the Treasury series. The Pells Order Books extend from 1597-1698. The Auditor's Order Books cover 1621-78 and 1697, while the original orders preserved among the Modern Tellers' Vouchers extend from 1560-1669 and 1701-1834. The existence of such Order Books on the Exchequer side does not necessarily imply the contemporáry existence of a parallel series on the Treasury side. The whole of the Treasury machinery and organisation is to be regarded as an offshoot and aftergrowth from the Exchequer system, and therefore as later in all the details of development. The earliest extant volume of Order Book on the Treasury side begins in 1667, and it is quite apparent from the manner of its commencement that it marks a departure in the method of Treasury business or bookkeeping. Previous to this the treasurer must have contented himself with his Money Book without keeping any record whatever of his signature of orders. The volume begins with a formal recital of the same minute of 1667, May 27, which has been already noted as having led to the inception of the series of Treasury Minute Books, supra, p. xv. On the face of it, the wording of

that minute would seem to refer to an Order Book as well as (if not rather than) a Minute Book. The inference that this minute marks the commencement of the series of Treasury Order Books as well as the Treasury Minute Books is practically confirmed by the immediately succeeding entry in Order Book I. as follows:

29th of May 1667.

Present:*

THE DUKE OF ALBEMARLE, LORD ASHLEY, SIR THO. CLIFFORD, SIR WM. COVENTRY, SIR JOHN DUNCOMBE.

All met as aforesaid and signed these several orders following, viz. :

Then follows the text of an auditor's order in full. succeeded by a brief of other like orders in this form :

"The like order of the same date for Edward Blackwill, Esq. The sum of"

£

13,000

And 11 other briefs of orders in exactly the same form. Then follows a heading "CERTIFICATE," the classification implying an Auditor's order as before, but with the recital of a certificate or of certificates under the hands of such and such officers or commissioners as to the due delivery of goods, &c. for which payment is in question. Following the text of this "certificate order there are briefs of 30 others the like.

Then succeeds another heading :

"Orders for the Treasurer of the Navy for salary and wages for officers, seamen, and mariners."

The first order is given in full, and an entry list of briefs is then made of 48 like orders for different sums.

The list of orders signed at the succeeding day's meeting is again headed with the date of the meeting and the names of the Lords of the Treasury present.

* [Order Book I. pp. 1-9.]

Now this is not at all the method and system of an Order Book proper, and shows distinctly that on the Treasury side the Order Book system was only just emerging and shaping itself. When, in the later volumes, the Order Book has attained its proper form, it pays no attention to minutes of meetings, or dates of meetings, or names of commissioners present, or to any attempt to list the orders under heads. It simply enters, or is an entry book of, orders all treated alike in method of compression or docqueting in entry, and in a continuous, but by no means chronological series. The development of this system from the more inchoate system perceptible in Vol. I. just described, can be traced through the few succeeding early Order Books.

Vol. I. extends from May 1667 to 8 October 1668.

Vol. II. extends from 1668, June 5, to 1670. At first it adopts the minute book or journal form, like Vol. I. giving the dates of meetings and the names of commissioners present, and with the orders drawn up more in the form of a list than in docquet form. But only partially following out this method, the volume concludes with orders classified under the head of the revenues on which they were charged. The volume is lettered on the outside "Book of orders for payments out of branches of the revenue."

Vol. III. 1669-70, January 1, to 1671, June (?) has lost the minute form entirely, and gives throughout lists of orders classified according to revenues charged, like the second half of Vol. II.

Vol. IV. 1679, April 8, to 1682, April 27. Consists of money orders generally without either the minute book form or the above classification as to funds.

On page 12 there is the following instance of a letter (or clause) of direction added in the margin at the side of the order to which it refers (see infra, p. xxxviii.) :

"Thus directed.-Let one hundred pounds in further part of this order be satisfied out of the 6,000l. which Richard Kent Esq. Receiver General and Cashier of His Majesty's Customs and New and Additional Duties, Monies &c. is to pay into the Receipt of the Exchequer this week upon his account." (4 signatures.) (4 signatures.) 27 May 1679.

The volume concludes with 20 or more pages of tabulated "Orders registered on the sum of 206,4621. 17s. 3d. for paying off and disbanding the forces raised since 29 September 1677 pursuant to an Act of Parliament made in the 31 year of His Majesty's reign," and a list of orders payable out of loans on the same.

Vol. V. 1682, May 8, to 1684-5, February 6, opens with the copy of an order of 1664 which has led to the wrong dating of this volume in the lists.

The whole of the volume is exactly in the style of the later order proper-the Order Books calendared in these pages for example. Further, this volume forms the direct predecessor to Vol. J. of the present enumeration of Order Books which begins, see below, in February 1684-5.

The succeeding four volumes, which make up the set of early miscellaneous Order Books and intercept between Vol. V. of that series and Vol. I. of the new, general or modern series, are stray volumes of miscellaneous character and date and ought not so to intercept.

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They are as follows:

Vol. VI. 1692-3, March, 1695-6, February, lettered

Order Book for Loans," consists of lists of orders upon