Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos: The Tellership Sinecure

In 1764, the Prime Minister, George Grenville, acquired one of the four Tellerships of the Exchequer for his eldest son (Nugent Buckingham, aged 10) on the death of Lord Macclesfield.

The Tellers received a 'poundage' on money issued. For every 100 pounds, they received:

7s 6d for money issued to ordinary service of the army (0.375%)
3s 6d for extraordinary service of the army (0.175%)
8d for the navy (0.04%)
12d for the ordnance (0.06%)
a fee of 2.5% on pensions and annuities.

Nugent Buckingham's average fees were:

Period	Average income a year	At year 2000 prices
Before 1775	Less than £3,000	c. £260K
1781	£10,742	c. £1.0M
1782	£8,167	c. £780K
1783	£6,344	c. £530K
1784	£979	c. £82K
1794	£9,836	c. £660K
1795	£15,699	c. £1.0M
1796	£14,692	c. £920K
1797	£2,700	c. £190K
1798	£2,700	c. £190K
1799	£2,700	c. £170
1800	£2,700	c. £130K
1801	£2,700	c..£110K
1802	£2,700	c. £150K
1793-1812	Average £14,471	c. £1.1M to c. £550K

In 1808, a parliamentary Committee on Public Expenditure reported that Buckingham and Camden, the surviving pre-1782 Tellers, each received £23,000 (c.£700K).

Each Teller appointed a deputy Teller and four clerks. Buckingham's Teller was William Fremantle, who earned less than 20% of Buckingham's salary. Part of Fremantle's salary was gifted to Buckingham's brother, Thomas.

In 1782, Parliament limited the fees of future, but not the current, Teller to £2,700. In 1797 Sheridan and Fox mounted an attack on sinecure offices:

It is most clear from the conversation which passed in the H of C, that Dr Sheridan means to call the attention of the publick to my office... I am fully aware to the obloquy which will be thrown upon the enormous value of my office, & of the attempt which will be made to curtail it, & I think it possible that these attempts may be successful. (Buckingham to Fremantle, 19 March 1797; BRO D-FR/46/7/25)

To ease the situation, Buckingham took only £2,700 of his fees until 1802; thereafter he resumed his previous practice. In 1810, Thomas Creevey launched a new attack, but Buckingham's brother Lord Grenville threatened to resign as leader of the Whigs if they debated the subject.

Creevey attacked again in 1812 but, with Grenville threatening to resign once more, the Whigs voted against his motion. Buckingham did, however, offer to give one third of his fees to the war effort; Sir George Harrison at the Treasury insisted on on one third plus all of any increase over the 1812 income (HEH STG Box 43 (4-5)). Buckingham, however, died before the agreement came into operation.

Sack estimates that by 1812, the Tellership provided about one third of the annual income of the Stowe Grenvilles.

Sources

Sack; Beckett.