According to Clerk and Scrope, "There are in this Office an Auditor-General and Depute-Auditor, both having commissions from the King. The first is an Office of great name and salary; but the business of the Office is entirely in the last, as is the case at present in the Auditor's Office" (p. 283). In fact, the office of Principal Auditor remained a sinecure throughout its existence. Even the power of deputation could not be exercised until 1776, as the commissions to the Principal Auditors expressly reserved the rights of Philp and Arbuthnot, and later of William Alston, who was appointed joint Deputy-Auditor with the former in 1757 and held office until his death on 5 April 1775.