George Harrison

Sir George Harrison, FRS, KCH (19 June 1767 – 3 February 1841) was an English barrister and civil servant. During a tenure of twenty-one years at the Treasury, he presided over the growth of a professional civil service and an increasing transfer of power from political appointees to administrators.

Biography An able young lawyer, he entered government service as register and counsel to the committee for redemption of land tax, initiated by Pitt in 1798, and was called to the bar in 1800. As the legal novelties of the redemption were worked out, his duties grew more routine, freeing him for promotion in 1805.

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury In that year, Pitt appointed him to the newly created post of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. His duties there were both clerical and administrative, serving to reduce the routine work of the second secretary. The increasing business of the Treasury at the time necessitated the growth of a specialised bureaucracy, relatively independent of the constraints of patronage, and Harrison would oversee its growth during the 21 years he spent in the post.

Auditor of the Treasury Having survived the change of ministries in 1806, Harrison easily weathered the fall of the coalition, and became a trusted adviser to Spencer Perceval. Harrison handled the financing of the Peninsular War, became one of the two auditors of the treasury in 1807, His pay was raised again to £3 000 p.a. in 1809.