The Press.
London, England, 1856-11-22 00:00:00

1106

The Exchequer (they state) is the great conservator of
the revenues of the nr.tion. It does not exercise any
authority over the administrative departments of receipt,
nor over the departments of payment, any further than to
guard against the illegal application of auy portion of the
public income. The constitutional functions of its officers,
who hold their situations for Ilk, are to provide for the
safekeeping and proper appropriation of the public money.
For this purpose it is charged with the receipt of the
revenues, which are vested in its name and deposited in
its care, until issued unties the authority of Parliament
fur the services of the State; and it is paled with the
power of denying its sanction to any demands upon it
from whatever Minister or department they may be made,
unless these demands are found iu accordance with the
determination of the Legislature.
The Commissioners here laid down with
precision and clearness the object and prin-
ciple of the Exchequer, in reference to the
functions of receipt and control, and all their
recommendations were in conformity with
that object and principle. As regards the
functions of receipt, they recommended the
payment of all public monies, " without ex-
ception," into the Exchequer, and that in
future all payments of the public income to
the credit of the Exchequer should be made
wholly and directly into the Bank of England
under two heads-Ist, the payments of the
Receiver-General and other receivers of taxes,
who are known and recognised public officers,
which payment the Bank should he authorised
to receive directly from those officers ; and,
2nd,! all other payments due to the public,
which latter the Bank may be directed
to receive on account of the Exchequer, on
special authority from the Treasury. And as
regards the funetions of control, they recom-
mend that a general credit be given in the
first instance at the Exchequer by a royal
order (with copies attached of the estimates
on which the money referred to has been
granted) to each department or office con-
cerned in the management of the public ex-
penditure, for such amount as Parliament
shall have voted to such department, and that a
special credit be subsequently given by warrants
of the Treasury to make use of this credit. They
detail with considerable minuteness the mode
in which these orders and warrants are to
be prepared and recorded ; and they conclude
that portion of their Report by stating that if
these regulations be established, the Treasury
will be able, from month to month, to ascer-
tain how much of each grant of Parliament is
exhausted, and how much remains to be ex-
pended. It will know whether each depart-
ment, or office of expenditure, disposes of the
public money according to legal authority, and
the Exchequer will also be able to prevent
any appropriation of this public money except
according to the directions of Parliament.
We have considered it necessary to be some-
what minute in stating the recommendations
and views of the Commission, because the
most important question for the consideration
of the Select Committee of last session—from
which they appear to have shrunk, but to '
which we are now anxious to invite attention—
isl,
this, whether or not the functions of the 1.
Exchequer at the present time are calculated
to effect the objects contemplated by the '
Commission either as regards receipt or con-
trol ; if not, whether any, or what, further
alterations may be necessary, anti whether
these alterations ought to be in the direction
of increasing or diminishing the power of the
Exchequer. The Act of Parliament in 1834 '
4 William IV., chap. 15—certainly falls short
of the Report of 1831. The Report, as we
hive remarked, recommended that without
any exception all the public monies should be
in the first instance paid into the Bank of
England to the Exchequer account.
The Act of Parliament made no such pro-
vision, neither did the Treasury minute con-
sequent upon the passing of the act ; and, in
point of fact, even up to the present day, a
very considerable portion of the public reve-
nue never finds its way into the Exchequer,
and, consequently, can be, and is, expended
without the sanction of Parliament.

This important subject has long been the
Parliamentary hobby of Mr. WILLIAMS, and he
deserves credit for the assiduity with which
he has pursued it. His efforts were all fruit-
less till Mr. Disatim became Chancellor of
the Exchequer. Though his term of office
was brief, and though it can scarcely be said
that even the customary consideration or 'in-