33 
 
 • • *\ 
 
 FIRST R E P O R T 
 
 *' '>. T Y'-j • Y;.4 • : 'it r- 
 
 FROM 
 
 » «, f • 1 • f r c t f > » t 
 
 r, ■■ i > r , *: il V ,/ f; # t ? ( VoI/j L \ # ; 0 
 
 SELECT COMMITTEE 
 
 ON 
 
 Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. 
 
 THE SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to inquire into Matters 
 connected with Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace ; 
 and to whom the Papers presented to The House by His Majesty’s 
 Command on the 15th day of February 1831, together with the 
 Minutes of Evidence taken by the Committee in the last Session 
 of Parliament, and the Papers laid before them, were referred ; 
 and who were empowered to report from time to time to The 
 House:— Have agreed to this their First Report; which has 
 reference only to the Furniture of Windsor Castle. 
 
 Y° ur Committee have ascertained that the Amount of Parliamen¬ 
 tary Grant for Furniture at Windsor Castle, was - <£.267,000 
 
 That the Sums paid to certain Tradesmen in the depart¬ 
 ment of the Lord Chamberlain, on account of their 
 Bills, amounted to- - - - - - - 217,943 
 
 1,768 
 
 3,550 
 £.223,261 
 
 That the Balance of the Parliamentary Grants in the Exchequer is 
 consequently £. 43,739. 
 
 Your Committee, after the best inquiries they were able to make, 
 resolved to recommend the payment of certain Balances due to- the 
 Tradesmen,whose bills were either within the original Estimates delivered, 
 or the excess of whose bills above their Estimates was satisfactorily 
 explained. These Balances amounted to £. 11,608. Rs. Kcl. 
 
 272 . 
 
 That there has been paid to the Tradesmen in the de¬ 
 partment of the Lord Steward, for Kitchen Furniture - 
 
 That there has also been paid for Tapestry 
 Making an Aggregate of 
 
 Messrs. 
 
34 
 
 o 
 
 FIRST REPORT FROM SELECT COMMITTEE 
 
 Messrs. Morel § Seddon had been paid the full amount of their 
 Estimates, £. 143,000; but the Bdls by them delivered were for the Sum 
 of £. 203,963, and a balance was consequently claimed of <£. 60,963. 
 
 Your Committee felt that they were wholly incapable of fixing any 
 value on the Furniture so provided, and yet that they could not be jus¬ 
 tified in advising the payment of so large an Excess over the original 
 Estimates, without endeavouring to obtain further information. Certain 
 charges for different articles of Furniture, to which the attention of Your 
 Committee had been specially directed, were, at their recommendation, 
 submitted by the Treasury to the examination of competent Judges, 
 who however, after a preparatory inspection of the same, declined a task 
 which they considered themselves wholly incapable of performing. 
 
 Your Committee having thus failed in an attempt to value those 
 selected Articles of Furniture, which might have been a criterion of 
 whether the general charges in the Bill were or were not extravagant, 
 at length entered into an arrangement with Messrs. Morel & Seddon, 
 that they should deliver a Statement of the Sums actually by them 
 expended in labour, materials, and trade charges, and the profit to them 
 accruing; this Statement to be verified by the examination of their 
 books, by an Accomptant to be appointed by the Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was consequently appointed : and after due consideration 
 of different Reports presented by him, and the Answers thereto made 
 by Messrs. Morel & Seddon, and after the examination of many Wit¬ 
 nesses as to the fair profit which ought to be charged by Upholsterers 
 for such costly and elaborate furniture, Your Committee report, that 
 the Bill of Messrs. Morel &c Seddon, originally amounting to 
 £. 203,963. 6. 5. should be diminished to <£. 179,300. 18. 9* 
 
 Messrs. Morel Sc Seddon having paid £. 1,050. to the Lord Cham¬ 
 berlain^ Office, in part of Fees, a practice to which Your Committee 
 strongly object in all instances, and to which the Lords Commissioners 
 of the Treasury have in this case specially objected, Your Committee 
 recommend that this Sum should be repaid. 
 
 The Account will be as follows : — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Balance due to various Tradesmen, exclusive! AV \o r. rr 
 
 of Morel & Seddon - - - -) n > 608 9 7 
 
 Balance to be paid Morel &c Seddon - - 37,350 19 7J 
 
 <£•48,959 9 n 
 
 The 
 
ON WINDSOR CASTLE AND BUCKINGHAM PALACE 
 
 3 
 
 The Balance of Grants in the Exchequer being £. 43,739- there 
 will remain to be provided for by Parliament, to complete the Sums 
 due for Furniture at Windsor Castle, £. 5,220. 9- 2f. less such Sum as 
 may be repaid by the Lord Chamberlain's Office for Fees received. 
 
 Your Committee trust that they do not exceed the duties entrusted 
 to them, if they express an opinion that a very heavy expense has been 
 incurred for furnishing Windsor Castle, without due regard to economy, 
 and without sufficient check from the proper authorities. 
 
 The appointment of a Furnishing Committee, so far from realizing 
 the expectations of the Lords of the Treasury, who in their Minute of 
 the 27th July 1826, say, “ My Lords receive with much satisfaction the 
 “ communication of this arrangement, under which they are convinced 
 “ that the service will be executed in the manner best suited to the 
 “ peculiar nature of it, and most consistent with the utmost economy of 
 “ which such an expenditure may be susceptible has, it is to be feared, 
 been productive of an increased lavish expenditure, inasmuch as neither 
 the Treasury nor the Lord Chamberlain's Office appear to have con¬ 
 sidered themselves responsible, while the Members of the Furnishing 
 Committee did not supply any adequate check on this extravagant 
 waste of Public Money. 
 
 Your Committee strongly deprecate the practice of establishing any 
 irresponsible Boards, who thus relieve the proper authorities from the 
 performance of duties which strictly belong to their official situations. 
 
 27 September 1831. 
 

 
 
 
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