The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-25 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

THE " MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES ;" I. 11. and 111.,
No. 108.—(Ordered by the Commons to be printed 13th
March, 1844.)—These estimates are always among the
most remarkable of the sessional papers. The various
services to which they relate are intimately connected
with the march of social improvement, of domestic civi-
lisation, and all the external indications of public great-
ness. They are the immediate evidence of the growth
or decrease of the national expenditure in its
civil departments. They bring under the notice of the
Legislature—once, at least, in each year—the aggregate
expenditure incurred by the legal, financial, and diplo-
matic appointments of the Crown. They demonstrate
the large appropriations annually made out of the re-
venues of the United Kingdom, to similar services, in
Ireland; and they show, in sufficient detail, the progress
of public works and municipal improvements, in the
metropolis and throughout the empire, in all cases where
these are chargeable on the same revenues.
No. 1 of these " Estimates, &c., Miscellaneous Ser •
vices," for the year ending March 31, 1845, comprises
" Public works and buildings." 'There are eight principal
items of charge under this head. No. I. is for " Re-
pairs, &c., of public buildings ; furniture, &c., for
various public departments ; certain charges for light-
ing, watching, rates and taxes ; also for maintenance
and repairs of Royal Palaces, and works in the Royal
gardens (formerly charged on the civil list), for the one
year from April 1, 1844, to March 31, 1845). The ge-
neral heading embraces Windsor Castle (with the
Poor Knights Houses, Tomb-house, Lower Lodge, Sta-
bles, Adelaide Cottage, Frogmore House, detached
buildings, &C., exclusive of internal repairs, alterations,
and additions of the state apartments, and those apart-
ments occupied by her Majesty and the Royal house-
hold) ; Hampton Court Palace—gardens, buildings,
forcing-houses ; Hampton Court—Stud-house, Long-
ford River, Combe Conduit, &c. ; Kew Palace—
Kew-green ; Kew—observatory, pagoda, pleasure, bo-
a
gardens, forcing houses, &c.; Kensing-
tsiot7anibi;: andas kitcheniac,aen_dbubiuidilidn igngs, belonging to her Majesty, on
Palace—buildings
in
pleasure-gardens, &c. •
ham Palace—for repairs of exterior of the buildingßucking-
; St.
James's Palace ; Royal Mews and Riding House,
Pimlico; Carlton House Stables—external repairs ;
Marlborough House external repairs ; Royal Pa-
vilion, Brighton Palace—stables and outbuildings ;
Temporary Houses of Parliament ; Westminster
Hall ; Courts of Law and Record-room ; Privy Seal
and Signet-office ; Chapter House Record-room, State
Paper-office; and India Board, all at Westminster. White-
hall, including Treasury Chambers, Houses of First Lord
and Chancellor of the Exchequer ; offices of the three
Secretaries of State ; Council-office and Board of
Trade ; Whitehall Chapel ; Exchequer-offices ; Office of
Woods, &c. ; ditto of Ecclesiastical Commission, of
Receiver of Fines, &c. (Spring-gardens) ; Land Re-
venue Enrolment ; Almonry, Exchequer Seal, and
Polish Refugees offices ; Marshalsea Court and
house ; Gwydyr-house ; Whitehall-stairs and causeway,
to river there ; Horse-Guards buildings, together
with Paymaster-General's office, Army Pay, Judge-
Advocate- General's offices ; Guard, Orderly, and State-
rooms ; Recruit-houses of the three Regiments of Foot
Guards ; Offices of Recruiting Department and Medical
Army Inspector (Duke-street) ; of Department of Ac-
counts and Board of General Officers ; Army Medical
Board, &c.; Stationery-office; National Gallery; Somerset
House, with official houses and apartments allotted to the
Senate of the University of London and School of De-
sign. British Museum, except the new buildings, which
are under Sir Robert Smirke.•

- -
We note this fact, having surmised, and deplored it,
in an article which appeared in The Sun of the 6th
instant, on the objectionable course adopted by
her Majesty's Government in not opening the designs for
these " new buildings" to public competition. Not to
have done so, we must still contend, has been a gross
neglect of duty on their part ; and we trust when this
part of the estimates comes to be voted, the attention of
the House will be specifically directed to it.)
Other offices included in this class are Deposi-
tory for Records in—the Riding-house (!), Carlton
Stables (probably for those written in running hand) ;
Insolvent Debtor's Court, &c.; Rolls Court, Chapel,
&c. ; Quen's Prison ; the Tower of London and
its various departments ; the Royal Mint; National
Debt-office; Metropolitan Carriage- office ; Royal
Military Asylum • Irish-office, (Great Queen-street,
Westminster); Tower-hill-office for payment of
Greenwich Pensioners ; Chelsea Hospital and grounds ;
expenses of oil and gas lighting at Houses of Parlia-
ment, and public buildings and offices ; rents, &c., of
houses taken for the accommodation of public depart-
ments ; furniture for public offices and buildings ; and
additional services executed in 1843-44, but not pro-
vided for in the estimates of that year."
Under this last head we find the Queen's Prison:
for furniture and fittings for the offices of
the Keeper, Deputy Keeper and Record De-
partment; and—for furniture and 'bedding for the
poor prisoners. We should like to have it ascer
tained how much was expended on the latter objects,
and how much on the former, of this heavy charge of
I,sool—(an additional charge, observe, in excess of
last year's estimate). We fear the " poor pri-
soners' " share " for bedding" will bear about
the same proportion to that of the " furniture
and fittings " for the Keeper and his Deputy,
as Falstaff's one halfpenny-worth of bread did to his
certain gallons of sack. The " total probable expense
for these ordinary works and repairs," (together with
the charge for the " additional services," to which we have
just recurred, 1,8961., and for repairs of buildings and pri-
sons in the Isle of Man, 3001.), 1s 101,549?, To this sum
is to be added " probable expense of repairs to public
buildings and palaces in Scotland, law courts, &c.'- (in-
eluding a charge of 1,2981 for " furniture and fittings
for the Hall for the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland, 1,298/ —a rather severe account) :—these
being estimated at 10,641/. The general aggregate of
these amounts, 112,1901, show an increase on the similar
estimate for the year 1843 and 1844, of 6,554/
No. 2. Estimated expense of Temporary houses of Par-