ABSTRACT
The agitation for reform at the end of the eighteenth century was not a new phenomenon. Agitation dated back two decades, indeed much further. However, reform at the end of the eighteenth century has always principally been associated with the movement for 'economical reform'. The American War of Independence triggered new questions of allegiance, influence and use of the money voted to the Crown. Though arising outside Parliament, the reform movement, once adopted by the king's ministers, focused closely on the finance of government. Accustomed to the interpretation of precedents, they developed principles in recommendations as they worked from report to report. They regarded government administration as a public trust, to be executed with honour and 'economic righteousness'. The Admiralty did not respond to the Fees report on the dockyards until February 1801, delayed by conflict with the Navy Board over the revision of the Fees recommendations.
