OFF ( 563 > OFF

Ordinate to the secretary of state for thehome department, and has 6 commis-sioners, and 1 secretary, whose office isin Dorset Court, Cannon Row, West-minster, and consists of 1 chief clerk,

1 assistant ditto, 3 extra ditto, 1 clerkof the minutes, 1 clerk for keeping ac-count of the appropriation and serviceof transports, 1 assistant ditto, 1 extraclerk, it is also subdivided into severaldepartments.

Volunteer and Local Militia Office isat No. 3-t, Great George Street, West-minster. The accompts, acceptance ofbills, and correspondence relative tothese branches of service, are here con-ducted under the immediate controul ofthe War-office.

JTar-OFricE, llorse Guards. Theestablishment of the war-office, at Christ­ mas , 1796, according to the last publicdocument on that head, consisted of,the secretary and deputy secretary atwar, a first clerk, and three principalclerks, and eight persons or their assist-ants, placed at the head of differentdepartments of the office. The followingis the present establishment: 1 secre-tary at war, 1 deputy ditto, 1 chief exa-miner of army accounts, 1 first clerk,34 senior clerks, 1 private secretary tothe secretary at war, 1 first clerk for thedepartment of accounts, 1 second ditto,1 third ditto, 63 junior clerks, 1 firstclerk for the department of the volun-teers and local militia, 5 clerks, 10 dittobelonging to Mr. Stuart’s department,7 clerks of the foreign branch, 1 pay-master of widows’ pensions, 1 deputyditto, 1 office-keeper, 4 messengers, 18assistant messengers, 1 librarian, 1 store-keeper. The duties of this otSce arethe examination of army accounts, andcorresponding thereupon. The secretaryat war decides upon the propriety ofadmitting charges against the public,which have been incurred under peculiarcircumstances not justifying their admis-sion without his authority. In otherrespects he acts ministerially. To thisoffice is attached

A Foreign Department, where the bu-siness of the foreign regiments, or mer-cenaries, in the service of England, istransacted. This office is in Duke Street,Westminster; its establishment consistsof 7 clerks, including 1 chiefj 3 mes-sengers.

W ith respect to the nature of the ac-counts which come. into, the War-oliice,

and the form of the examination whichthey undergo there, it has been statedto the House of Commons , that thefirst head consists of the annual ac-counts of the ordinary and accidentalcharges of established regiments; thesecond may not inaccurately be definedregimental extraordinaries, or incidentalexpenses more properly belonging toestablished corps than to the army ingeneral, which latter are known by theterm, “ Extraordinaries of the Army ."All claims, made, by the regimentalagents, come under the inspection of the“ Examiner of Army Accounts," towhose office they are transmitted ofcourse, in virtue of a general delegationof that duty to him by the secretary atwar : after his examination and report,the secretary at war, in many instances,orders partial issues of money by letter,to the paymaster general. No finalpayment is made, except under the au-thority of a warrant countersigned bythe secretary at. war, and, in most in-stances, by three lords of the treasury.The regimental agents account finallyto the secretary at war. They are like-wise accountable to him, and to thecommander in chief, for every speciesof mismanagement and misconduct with■respect to the officers and soldiers, &c.

The forms under which all payments,derived from the establishment, are con-ducted, consist of the following pa-pers :—

1. The establishment of a regiment.

2. The warrant from the War-office tomake out debentures, with the state ofcharges annexed.

3. The debenture made up at the pay-office.

4. The final or clearing warrant.

5. The pay-office state.

The War-office department has noconcern in framing or executing the in-terior and local regulations of the militia,forces. These are made, altered andamended by the lord-lieutenants ofcounties, after having been submitted toParliament .

Foreign Office. This office is inDowning-Street , under the immediatedirection of one of the principal Secre-taries of State, who has the conduct*and .management of our affairs .withforeign powers.

Home Office, or Home Departmentan office which is under the direction ofone of the three priucipal Secretaries of4 C 2