HISTORY OR MALTA.

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account of their commodious situation. Those who werecharged with the management of these coffers were termedreceivers, and the money paid in was called receipts, The trea-sury, having no other means of receiving this money but bybills of exchange, was under the necessity of actum as a o- e -neral banker. This bank had a correspondence which extendedfrom Cadiz to Warsaw, and even of late to Petersburg. Theexchange varied so frequently, that an exact statement ofthe receipt and expenditure was often attended with muchdifficulty.

Most of the articles in which the finances of Malta con-sisted having preserved their ancient names, which were pecu-liar to the order alone, I have explained every particular insuch a manner as to give a clear and exact idea of the whole.But I think it necessary, in the first place, to make the readeracquainted with the composition and functions of the differentchambers or offices which formed the general administrationof the treasury of the order.

The venerable chamber of the common treasury, properlyso balled, was composed of a president, three procurators (oneof whom was for the grand-master), the conventual conservator,two auditors of accounts, and two secretaries. A commissionof four knights, decorated with the grand cross, was added onparticular occasions. When tins assembly took the name ofaccountant’s-office, the grand-treasurer and an auditor of ac-

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