The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

SERVICES SHOULD BE TAKEN.

The difficulty which has hitherto prevented the ex-
tension of the principles of account and appropriation
check applied to the naval and military accounts to the
accounts of expenditure for civil services, has arisen from
the delay which takes place in Parliament in voting the
estimates for civil services. These votes being passed
generally late in the session, it has been considered im-
possible to adopt the principle applied to the naval and
military grants, of providing only fur the" payments to
be made in the financial year. Your committee are of
opinion that this difficulty may be overcome by taking
one aggregate vote, upon account, for such civil ser-
vices as have already been sanctioned by Parliament in
the previous session ; and in order to facilitate this
practice, it is recomme.,ded that all salaries for the last
quarter shall be payable on the 31st March in each year.
The amounts thus made applicable to each separate vote
for civil services should be stated in a schedule, and
deducted from the amounts to be voted to complete the
grants for the year,

A course similar to this has been adopted in the present
year, except that the votes have not been limited to the
provision required for meeting the payments to be made
in the year.

Under this arrangement, the accounts could be closed
soon after the termination of the year for all home ser-
vi:es ; and as regards payments made abroad, imme-
diately on receipt of the accounts of payments made up
to the 31st March, all unexpended balances should be
surrendered; and grants unapplied, but required for the
cc mpleticin of the services to which they bad been ap-
priated, should be revoted.

8.-Tir ANNUAL ACCOUNTS OF INCOME AND EXPENDI-
TURE TO BE FOUNDED ON ACTUAL RECEIPTS AND
PAYMENTS.

It is provided by the Act 10 Geo. IV., c. 27, that, for
the purpose of ascertaining the annual amount of surplus
revenue, the Treasury shall cause to be prepared, after
theexpiration of each quarter, an annual account, showing
the actual revenue and expenditure of the United King-
dom, in the four quarters for the whole year imme-
diately -preceding such quarter-days respectively,
according to the actual receipt and issue of moneys
at the Exchequer ; and on the 24th section of the
Exchequer Act (4 Will. IV. c. 14) requires that the
expenditure iu such account, so far a; it relates to Great
Britain, shall be made up from the credits granted to
the Exchquer. Your committee are satisfied from the
evidence taeen before them, that an account of Exche-
quer credits cannot represent a true account of expendi-
ture; they therefore recommend that the basis of the
account should be the actual payment of the several
paymasters to whom those credits are granted.
9. —REGULATION OF THE TREASURY CHEST FUND.
Full information as to the nature of this fund, and the
stops taken to Lring it under proper regulations will be
found in the Appendix, No: 3, to the Report of the Com-
mittee, in 1846, pp, 589 to 613; This fund was formerly
known as "Army Extraordinaries," and subsequently as
the " Commissariat Cheat Fund." The object of the
fund is to provide the means of carrying on the public
service abroad. Under existing regulations a royal
warrant defines the objects for which it is to be em-
ploye3, and prescribes that accounts shall be prepared
annually by the Commissioners of Audit, showing the
sums paid in and out of the fund in the financial year,
and the assets and liabilities of the fund at the close of the
year. These accounts have been regularly laid before
the House of Commons since the let April, 1846.
Your committee sonar in the propriety of the regula-
tions under which this fund is administered and the
accounts are prepared ; but they recommend that, in-
stead of relying on the security of a royal warrant for
the maintenance of those regulations, they should be
confirmed by an Act of Parliament. The objects to
which legislation should be directed in regard to this
fund are the following :-
Ist. To limit the amount of the balance to be retained
at the credit of the fund, and to provide that, if it shall
at any time exceed the limit fixed by law, the surplus
shall be paid to the Consolidated Fond.
2d. To provide that no final expenditure shall be
charged upon the fund.
3i. To provide that the fund shall only be employed
for the legitimate banking operations of the Treasury
chests, and for advances for public and colonial services,
repayable out of votes of Parliament, or other funds
applicable thereto.

4th. To provide that accounts shall be laid before
Parliament every year, showing the cash operations of
the fund at home and abroad during the financial year,
and the assets and liabilities of the fund at the close of
such year.

Your committee are aware that the important and ex-
tensive changes which they have suggested cannot all be
immediately carried into effect ; but they believe that
the continued attention of Parliament and of the Execu-
tive GovernmeLt to the subject will secure at no distant
date ali the objects embraced in their recommendations.
August 18, 1857.

LOCAL SHARE MARKETZ.

LIVERPOOL, SEPT. 11.

STOCK EXCHANGE.—The transactions in this market
have been moderate, but an improvement in tone is mani-
fest, and prices of all the leading stocks closed steady.
Eastern Counties, 11i -Caledonian, 411—North British,
I2l—North Union (A), 219—Chester and Holyhead, 17i—
Lancashire an'i Yorkshire, 1001—Midland, 82i a
London and N, rth-Westorns, 100 99i—North Eastern,
Berwick, 231----Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire, 66i
—Great Western of Canada, 21A —Sheffields, 411 /
Gland Trunk of Canada, 12A —South Eastern,