George Rose

George Rose, joint Secretary of the British Treasury at the time of the First Fleet, joined the civil service after leaving the Royal Navy in 1762. Within ten years he was joint Keeper of the Records; he was appointed secretary to the Board of Taxes in 1777. In 1782 he joined the Treasury, and late the following year became one of the Secretaries to the Treasury in Pitt's ministry. Pitt’s staunchest supporter and most energetic publicist, he entered parliament as Member for Launceston early in 1784. He was rewarded by Pitt with a lucrative post in the Court of Exchequer; in 1788 he became Clerk of the Parliaments. In 1801 Rose left office with Pitt, but returned with him to power in 1804, when he was made vice-president of the committee on trade and joint Paymaster-General. Rose resigned these offices a few days after Pitt's death in 1806, but he served as vice-president of the committee on trade and treasurer of the Navy from 1807 to 1812. He was again Treasurer of the Navy under Lord Liverpool, and he was still MP for Christchurch, a seat which he had held since 1790, when he died at Cuffnells, Lyndhurst in Hampshire