Abolition
During the American War of Independence, the government came under great pressure to ensure that its revenue was properly spent, particularly curbing Civil list expenditure. This led to the passing in 1782 of an Act concerning the office of Paymaster-General and a Civil Establishments Act (22 Geo. III, c.21 and c.22), the latter abolishing 134 sinecures in the Royal Household. The following year acts required balances to be deposited in the Bank of England. These officers were paid by fee and did their work by deputy, and a further 144 sinecures abolished. This movement ended with the abolition of the auditors of the imprests in 1785 and their replacement by five Commissioners for Auditing the Public Accounts.
Read more about this topic: Auditor Of The Imprests
Famous quotes containing the word abolition:
“It was a marvel, an enigma in abolition latitudes, that the slaves did not rise en-masse, at the beginning of hostilities.”
—Rebecca Latimer Felton (1835–1930)
“There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... this nation is rotten at the heart, and ... nothing but the most tremendous blows with the sledge-hammer of abolition truth, could ever have broken the false rest which we had taken up for ourselves on the very brink of ruin.”
—Angelina Grimké (1805–1879)