XXII. Part I. Chapter referred to the committee of supply, when the royal recommendation was signified. But inconveniences arose from this method of procedure; and, pursuant to resolution, 9th February, 1863, the militia estimates, like the other estimates for the public service, are presented by command.1 Public see p. 597. Crown over estimates. As the sovereign is responsible for the presentation of Power of the estimates of the public expenditure, the Crown, acting form of through its ministers, controls, subject to the requirements of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, the form in which the estimates are presented. Under established usage, however, important changes in the customary form of the estimates should not be made without the previous approval of the Public Accounts committee, acting on behalf of the House of Commons; and, in deference to this committee, principle, official alterations in the estimates are restricted to such rearrangements as involve no question of principle.2 Form of the estimates.-The ordinary sessional estimates Ordinary are presented in three parts or divisions, comprising the estimates. three branches of the public service-the army, navy, and civil services; and each estimate contains first a statement of the total grant thereby demanded, and then a statement of the detailed expenditure thereof, divided into subheads and items. These estimates should embody the total Total amount of the expenditure which is required for each penditure financial year; and accordingly, when an increase over the demands made by the annual estimates for any services is requisite, revised or additional estimates are presented, specifying the amounts ultimately found necessary for those services.3 sessional annual ex to be specified. estimates. Besides the ordinary sessional estimates for the service Other of the current year, to meet the requirements of the executive government, estimates for grants on account, 1169 H. D. 3 s. 198. 2 341 ib. 1517; see also Public Accounts Committee's Reports, Parl. Papers No. 333, sess. 1867, p. iii.; No. 350, sess. 1881, p. iii.; No. 405, sess. 1888, p. iv.; No. 71, sess. 1890, p. iv.; No. 361, sess. 1891, p. ix.; No. 288, sess. 1904, p. x. On the same principle, following the precedents of 1814, 69 C. J. 18. 449, revised estimates to carry out a reduction of the army and navy estimates, were presented in 1856, 111 ib. 172; and of the army estimates in 1858, 113 ib. 112. 120. Use of army and navy surpluses. XXII. Part I. for supplementary grants, and for excess grants, are pre- Chapter on Consoli p. 557. Grants on account.-Owing to our financial system, and Procedure the conditions of parliamentary business, the presentation dated Fund of estimates for grants in advance upon the estimated Bills, see departmental expenditure of the year, before a complete sanction has been given to that expenditure, is an annual necessity. These grants are known as "votes on account." In the hope that the vote of the committee of supply would be taken upon the bulk of the annual estimates during the earlier portion of each session, the financial year closes the 31st March, and begins on the 1st April. The futility of a hope centred on the 1st April is the experience of every session. When that day comes round, session after session, but very slender provision has been made for the requirements of the new financial year. On the other hand, as every grant of supply is limited to the service of the financial year for which the grant is made, the grant lapses, if it has not been utilized before the 31st March; and, under the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, all unexpended sums in the hands of the departments are surrendered to See charges the exchequer. Thus, obviously, during the first quarter of Consolieach calendar year, a vote on account must be demanded: dated Fund, for, if no grant in advance has been made upon the 31st March, the maintenance of the public service in the early part of the new financial year will be wholly unprovided for. During sessions uninterrupted by a dissolution, the army Grants on and navy departments are usually exempted from the caused by a necessity of obtaining grants on account. Owing to the dissolution, 1 Public Income, &c., Parl. Paper [366], sess. 1869, part ii. p. 330. 2 To suit the exigencies of parlia mentary business, grants on account upon the p. 592. account p. 550. XXII. Part I. Appropriution, see p. 593. Chapter nature of the duties entrusted to them, a peculiar privilege is accorded to those departments. The constitutional principle which insists that each grant of supply shall be devoted exclusively to the object for which the grant is made, is subjected to a temporary suspension in the case of the army and navy departments. Under sanction from the treasury, authorized by a provision in the Appropriation Act of each current financial year, and subject to a confirmation of the transaction by the next year's Appropriation Act, the military and naval departments have the power of using, at their discretion, until the close of each financial year, such unexpended balances or surpluses as they can save out of any of the grants made for their services. Accordingly, to meet the necessity of carrying on the army and navy services, those departments are permitted to make a temporary advance, on account, out of any one grant, towards any other grant which appears upon the estimates for that service. Thus it is customary to obtain, before the 31st March in each year, the grant for the pay and wages of the men in the army1 and the navy for the ensuing financial year, and to use the money obtained from the Consolidated Fund on the authority of this grant for the general maintenance of those services, until the grants to the army and navy are completed. This facility Civil seris not extended to the civil service departments; and a partments. grant on account is therefore required during the month of March, to maintain those departments during the earlier part of the ensuing financial year. According to established Nature and of 1848, for the army and navy, 103 1 In sess. 1905 the vote for sup Formerly in addition to the grant on account required during the month of March, one or more grants on account were rendered vice de amount of sessional necessary during the months of grants on May, June, or July by the pressure account. of parliamentary business which postponed the consideration of supply to the end of the session. A limit was placed by practice upon the total amount that might be demanded by estimates for a "vote on account." To retard or to obviate a renewal of these demands, estimates have been presented for the first sessional grant on account, comprising an expenditure in advance for the ensuing three Grants on account before a XXII usage, demands for grants on account are restricted to such Chapter Grants on account may also be rendered necessary by a dissolution of Parliament. If the dissolution occurs in the dissolution. early portion of a session, before supply is completed, it 4 may be necessary to take votes on account sufficient to months. This course was followed account has been taken in the 1 Report of select committee on 4 112 ib. 93. 98. Part I. Part I. Chapter the power of making a temporary application of the grants XXII. they had received towards the service in general, nominal sums only were taken on account for the navy services:1 but, in future, on such an occasion, substantial grants on account will be demanded for both army and navy services.2 In 1895 votes on account representing four months' expenditure having been already taken, the third vote on account, taken immediately before the dissolution, represented one month's expenditure.3 Assembly of Parlia ment after disso a dissolu Appropriation Act, The facility thus given for carrying on the executive government without reference to Parliament, has not been unnoticed. In 1841, Lord John Russell, on 7th June, proposed to take supply up to 1st October. Sir Robert Peel objected, that this would enable the government to defer the meeting of Parliament until October; and this objection was met by an assurance that the new Parliament should be summoned as soon as possible; and, under similar circumstances, when, in 1886, supply was asked for extending from June to 31st October, Mr. Gladstone stated that he thought it quite certain that Parliament ought to meet at an early period of time.5 ation of before a The grants on account caused by a dissolution should be Approprisee p. 593. legalized by an Appropriation Act, passed before Parlia- advance ment is dissolved, appropriating in detail all the supply grants voted in the expiring session in the manner used at the dissolution. close of an ordinary session; and the amount of supply left unvoted is dealt with by the succeeding Parliament. The prorogation or dissolution of Parliament without an Appropriation Act is a constitutional irregularity, as thereby all the grants of the Commons are nullified, and the sums must be voted again in the next session, before a legal appropriation can be effected, a course which was followed on the two occasions when Parliament was dissolved, no 1 141 C. J. 275. 2 In 1895 the votes on account taken for the navy and army services were £1,000,000 and £4,000,000 respectively, 150 ib. 318. 319. 3 35 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 96. 458 H. D. 3 s. 1274. 5306 ib. 1317; see also debate, 1st April, 1892, 3 Parl. Deb 4 s. 507. See Appropriation Acts, sess. I. and II. 1886. |
