Chancellor of the Exchequer when James Callaghan was the first chancellor to break with tradition when he used a newer box. Prior to Gladstone, a generic red Despatch Box of varying design and specification was used. The practice is said to have begun in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative Francis Throckmorton presented the Spanish Ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings. In July 1997, Gordon Brown became the second chancellor to use a new box for the Budget. Made by industrial trainees at Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd ship and submarine dockyard in Fife,
Comptroller General of the Exchequer was criticised by Henry Liddell in a speech in the Commons in 1840. By the 1860s Monteagle differed from the government regarding the Exchequer control over the Treasury, and the abolition of the old exchequer was already determined upon when he died in early 1866. The post was abolished by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 by which its duties were merged with those of the Commissioners of Audit, creating the position of Comptroller and Auditor General. Comptroller General of the Exchequer The Comptroller General of the Exchequer was a position in the Exchequer of HM Treasury between 1834