6 George III. in 1820, the Commons, in anticipation of a dissolution Or in of Parliament, voted certain temporary supplies, which were not 1820. appropriated by Act of Parliament in that session. Objections were raised to these votes in the House of Lords, as being an infringement of the right of their lordships to assent to the grant of supplies; but it was ultimately resolved that this House, from the state of public business, acquiesce in these resolutions, although no Act may be passed to give them effect.' Again, in 1831, owing to the ex- Or in citement occasioned by the rejection of the Reform Bill in the House 1831. of Lords, Parliament was hurriedly dissolved in April, before the passing of an Appropriation Act. The new Parliament met on June 14, when all the grants of the former session were re-voted in Committee of Supply." ciple was finally established and incorporated into the system of parliamentary government. At this epoch. Solicitor-General (afterwards Lord) Somers and Mr. Sacheverel, by special direction of the House of Commons, framed some appropriation clauses with great care, which were included in the statute 1 Wm. & Mary, s. 2, c. 1, and are given in full in Hatsell, vol. iii. Appendix, No. 15. These clauses were not formally repeated in subsequent Bills of Supply, but they are referred to as to be put in force and practised' in various succeeding statutes. Thenceforth it became the established and uniform practice, that the sums granted by the House of Commons for the current service of the year should, by a special appropriation, either in the act for levying the aid or in some other act of the same session, be applied only to the services which they had voted.' This doctrine has been enforced, from time to time, by penalties imposed by Acts of Parliament upon officers of the Exchequer and others who should divert or misapply the moneys granted to any other purpose; and a violation of the same is a misdemeanour, that has been declared to be a sufficient ground for a parliamentary impeachment." the appro The modern form of the appropriation clause, after Form of enumerating the grants of the session, and applying priation them to their respective services, is as follows: That clause. the said aids and supplies shall not be issued or applied to any use, intent, or purpose, other than those before mentioned, or for the other payments, &c. directed to be satisfied by any Acts of Parliament, &c., of this session.' A clause of this description was invariably inserted in the annual Appropriation Acts up to the year 1869. On two occasions, in 1857 and in 1859, where two sessions were held in one year, it was * 3 Hats. 202. y Ib. 206. Cases cited in Lord Monteagle's Report, Com. Pap. 1857, VOL. I. Sess. 2, v. 9, p. 567; and see Hans. 3 G Authority given to use sur pluses of army and navy grants to good de make ficiencies therein. omitted in the acts of the second session on technical grounds, arising from the fact of two parliaments being convened in each of those years. But, in point of fact, it has been authoritatively stated, that though, as a declaration of constitutional principle, the said clause might reasonably be inserted in any Appropriation Bil, yet that it was in point of law mere surplusage, because the government had no authority to appropriate those moneys to any other purposes than those for which Parliament had appropriated them.' Accordingly, since 1870, the clause has been omitted; and the Act itself materially simplified and abbreviated. The Appropriation Act also contains a provision, that the expenditure for navy and army services shall be confined to those services respectively, but that if a necessity shall arise for incurring expenditure not provided for in the sums appropriated' for the said services, and which it may be detrimental to the public service to postpone until provision can be made for it by Parliament in the usual course,' application shall be made to the Treasury, who are empowered to authorise such additional expenditure to be temporarily defrayed out of any surpluses which may have accrued Subject to by the saving of expenditure upon any votes within the same departments; provided that the House of Commons shall be duly informed thereof, in order to make provision for such deficient expenditure as may be determined; and provided also, that the aggregate grants for the navy and army services shall not be exceeded.'a approval of the House of Commons. The manner in which the observance of the Appropriation Act is secured, and the circumstances under which any deviation from the strict rule of parliament Mr. Gladstone, in Hans. D. v. 164, p. 1745. But the Treasury may refrain from expending money granted for a particular purpose, if not satisfied with the propriety of the expenditure. Ib. v. 204, p. 1869. Hans. D. v. ary appropriation is permissible, will engage our attention in the next volume. It only remains, in this branch of our enquiry, to add a few remarks upon the progress of the Appropriation Bill through Parliament. dure upon tion Bill, various The constitutional restrictions upon the grant of Procemoney otherwise than through the Committee of Supply, the Ap necessarily confine the action of the House of Commons propriain respect to money votes to the proceedings of this at its committee, and to the decision upon their resolutions, when reported to the House. A motion to address the crown, that a vote which had been reported from Committee of Supply, and agreed to by the House, should not be expended, was declared by the Speaker to be irregular and out of order. Technically, such vote could, of course, be struck out of the Appropriation Bill. But in practice this Bill has been defined by Lord Palmerston to be simply a form that is required. by the constitution, and not a Bill to give rise to any discussion.' And while he did not dispute the power or right of the House to make any alteration it pleased in a Bill as it passed through its several stages, it had never been a custom, by alterations in the Appropriation Bill, to rescind the previous acts and votes of this House.' Amendments which did not affect the determinations of the Committee of Supply have, though very rarely, been made in the Appropriation Bill during its progress through the House. d 6 No obstruction should be offered to the passage of the Appropriation Bill through the House, except under extraordinary circumstances. Debates and amendments upon the several stages thereof are governed by the rules applicable to other Bills, and must therefore be relevant to the Bill, or some part of it, and should b Hans. D. v. 164, p. 1500. e Ib. p. 1502. d Ib. pp. 1750, 1751; and see v. 176, p. 1866. e See Com. Jour. July 22, 1858. |