Grants of supply, and ways and means, to correspond. the treasury makes the issues to meet those grants out Chapter of the Consolidated Fund.1 The drafts upon the Consolidated Fund authorized by the resolutions of the committee of ways and means must not exceed the amount of supply which has previously been granted for the service of the year; and it is the duty of the Public Bill Office, acting on behalf of the Speaker,2 to ensure compliance with this rule. In deference to this requirement, the report of the final ways and means resolutions, on which Consolidated Fund and Appropriation bills are founded (see p. 593), is invariably placed upon the notice paper after the report of the supply grants which that resolution is designed to meet; so that, if necessary, the amount sanctioned by the ways and means resolution can, by reduction, be brought into conformity with the The royal grants made by the committee of supply. The royal order, which is the final authority for the issue of a supply grant, also prescribes that the amount thereunder issued shall not exceed the amount of the grants out of the ways and means appropriated by Parliament to the service of the year. The grants made by a committee of the whole house appointed to consider an exceptional occasion for expenditure (see p. 630), and grants obtained upon an address to the Crown (see p. 570), are also drawn from the Consolidated Fund pursuant to statutory authority. order. Exceptional grants. Sessional charges upon the Consolidated Fund. Application of the Consolidated Fund.-The drafts which are made upon the Consolidated Fund, under the authority of the sessional Consolidated Fund and Appropriation Acts, 1 The vote of resolutions by the committees of ways and means, and of supply, to authorize and to meet the issue of exchequer bills to defray the temporary requirements of the executive government, used to form one of the functions of these committees. Resort to this procedure is now obviated by the insertion of clauses in the sessional Consolidated Fund Acts, which authorize the Bank of England, on application from the treasury to advance the sums required for the public service, in respect of any services voted dur- 2 The Speaker superintends the XXII. XXII. Grants on account, upon the dated Chapter are available for the supply of any service belonging to the financial year to which those Acts apply: but the Part III. drafts authorized for the supply of one financial year are not applicable to the supply of another financial year. see p. 548. Nor are the drafts made to meet the supply voted in one parliamentary session applicable to the supply voted in another session. Thus grants out of the Consolidated Fund, devoted by the legislation of session 1885 to the service of the financial year 1885-86, could not be applied to the supplementary grants voted during session 1886 for the year 1885-86. These grants were not available until fresh issues out of the Consolidated Fund were provided in the session of 1886 for the financial year 1885-86. Besides the drafts made upon the Consolidated Fund to Permanent charges meet the requirements created by the legislation of each session, permanent charges for the service of the state are Consolisecured by statute upon that fund which the treasury is Fund. bound to defray, as directed by law. In this expenditure are included the interest of the national debt, the civil list of his Majesty, the annuities of the royal family, and the salaries and pensions of the judges and of other public officers. Appropriation of the grants for the annual services.-The Grants on sums of money granted, in advance, by the committee of supply for the service of the year, are issued, as has been explained, during the first six months of every session, under the authority of the Consolidated Fund Acts (see p. close of financial 557), because the Appropriation Bill, which gives complete procedure, legal sanction to those issues, cannot be introduced until the financial arrangements of the year are concluded.1 Accordingly, when all the supply grants necessary for the The Approservice of the year have been voted, the resolution finally Act. Ways and proposed in the committee of ways and means is for a grant lutions, see out of the Consolidated Fund, which provides the balance of ways and means required to cover the supply grants voted for the current financial year. Upon the report of Sessional see p. 623. means reso p. 591. account. priation Debate on the Appropriation Bill. XXII that resolution, the Appropriation Bill is brought in, which Chapter When, during the course of a session, an increase in the Debate and amendment on the stages of the Appropriation Bill and other Consolidated Fund bills must be relevant to the bill, and must be confined to the conduct or action of those who receive or administer the grants specified in the bill, while as in committee of supply (see p. 623), 1 110 C. J. 443; 145 ib. 579. Owing to their formal character, the Consolidated Fund and the Appropriation Bills are not printed for general circulation, but copies can be obtained on application; see also p. 468. 2 140 C. J. 161. 180. 320. 3 Compare Appropriation Acts, 1870 and 1882, with the Act of 1885. 4143 H. D. 3 s. 558. 641; 12th April, 1859 (Admiralty Board), 153 ib. 1626; 23rd July, 1863 (Foreign Relations); 26th June, 1865 (Irish Constabulary); 14th Aug. 1867 (Turkey and Greece); 5th Aug. 1870 (Fortifications, and State of the Navy); 8th Aug. 1872 (Kew Gardens); 11th Aug. 1876 (Outrages in Bulgaria); 15th Aug. 1882, on XXII. Part III. Chapter legislation cannot be discussed. As an illustration of this rule, it may be mentioned that discussion has been permitted on the state of Europe, so far as it depended on the conduct of the executive government, as, for example, the use made of the naval forces, or the action of the diplomatic servants of the Crown; whilst, on the other hand, observations and amendments relating to the constitution of Great Britain, to the House of Lords, to a course of action taken by that house touching the tenure of land in Ireland, or remarks on the balance of power in Europe, the desirability of establishing a ministry of agriculture, the expense of actions at law, and alleged miscarriages of justice, were held to be irrelevant.2 Nor has the fact that officials of a department have been engaged in collecting information with regard to proposals of the government for legislation in a future session been held to justify a claim to discuss such proposals.3 mittee The principle of relevancy is also strictly applied to The Appropriation debate and amendments in the committee on the Appro- Bill compriation Bill. No grant of supply is effected by the bill ; practice. its provisions are solely administrative; the sole object of the bill is to ensure the application of the grants made by Parliament to the objects defined by the resolutions of the committee of supply. Accordingly, debate or amendment must be restricted to the matter of appropriation; and the conduct of the officials or of the departments who receive the supply grants cannot be challenged in the committee on the bill. Nor can amendments be moved to its clauses, or to the schedule, to effect the omission or reduction of the amount of a grant,5 or of the appropriations in aid of it, or an alteration in the destination of a grant." Procedure Nor are the enacting words of the bill open to amendment.8 on bills, see p. 485. 6 199 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 1092; 140 ib. 531; 143 ib. 1243; 151 ib. 691. 2176 H. D. 3 s. 1859; 180 ib. 836; 231 ib. 1119. 1160; 256 ib. 472. 1232; 265 ib. 736, 768; 321 ib. 536; 29 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 408; 35 ib. 296; 140 ib. 527. 3127 Parl. Deb. 4. s. 869. 340 H. D. 3 s. 609; 148 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 881. 5 292 H. D. 3 s. 588; 332 ib. 977. 980-983.985; 29 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 410. 415. 140 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 484. 7 256 H. D. 3 s. 1240. 332 H. D. 3 s. 993. 1010; 339 ib. 219; 80 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 1364. Royal assent to the Appropri Adjourn ments after XXII. Form of 513. A Consolidated Fund or an Appropriation Bill that has Chapter passed both houses is returned into the custody of the ation Bill. Commons; and when that house is summoned to the Part III. House of Lords, to attend the sovereign or the lords royal ascommissioners, the bill is handed by the Speaker, at the sent, see p. bar of the House of Lords, to the Clerk of the Parliaments, to receive the royal assent. The passing of the Appropriation Bill takes place, ordinarily, but not necessarily, on the day appointed for the prorogation of Parliament; as on several occasions, when special circumstances have demanded an adjournment, instead of a passing of prorogation, the royal assent has nevertheless been given Prolonged Appropria- to the Appropriation Act; and on the meeting of Parlia- ments, see ment, after the adjournment, the outstanding business has P. 46. been proceeded with. And as the money bills have been passed, and the committee of supply closed, the special sitting has then been held, without any disturbance of the For Approfinancial arrangements of the year.2 When the sovereign is priation present in person (see p. 207), the Speaker prefaces the de- vious to a livery of the money bills with a short speech concerning see p. 551. the principal measures which have received the assent of Parliament during the session, in which he does not omit to mention the supplies granted by the Commons. tion Acts. 1 Appropriation bills, in common with bills brought in upon royal recommendation, are, by usage (see p. 501), not passed through more than one stage at each sitting of the House of Commons. 2 On the 12th Oct. 1799, the Appropriation Act received the royal assent, when both houses adjourned till the 21st Jan. 1800. On the 24th July, 1820, the Appropriation Act received the royal assent; and on the 26th, the Commons adjourned and continued adjournments, and the transaction of business, until 23rd Nov. On the 17th Aug. 1882, the Appropriation Act received the royal assent; and on the following day both houses adjourned until 23rd Oct. On the reassembling of Parliament, the regularity of the adjourn ment was challenged in the Com- adjourn Act pre dissolution, |
