No. 40

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Grace's
despatch No 5 of the 21st January, communicating to me the
decision of the Lords Commissoners of the Treasury with respect
to

fixing the rate of allowance for my travelling expenses when
absent from the seat of Government, on official duty, which their
Lordships think had better be postponed until sufficient data
exist for establishing a daily rate, an arrangement which is in
all respects satisfactory to me.

2. I beg however to explain for your Grace's information,

that the rate of allowance suggested in my letter viz £5 per
diem, was not intended merely as a personal allowance, but is
supposed to cover the whole expense of my official staff and
servants, including transport maintenance and all other
travelling expenses, and the rule was adopted solely with the
view of introducing economy, certainty, and regularity, into
the public expenditure.