12. The budget of each ministry is formed as follows: (1) Ordinary part; (2) extraordinary part; (3) double entry.1

Each of these parts is divided into sections (titoli), one for each director general, and the sections are divided into subsections. The transfer of items from one section to another can be made only by act of Parliament.

13. To each budget a brief report is attached by the competent minister, and besides these there are the reports of the general committee on budgets. Expenditures for the past periods are shown by attaching the estimates for the preceding year. 14. Estimates of revenues and receipts are submitted with the estimates of expenditure.

15. Yes; separate estimates are made, as the general statement of the budget consists of: (1) Ordinary expenditures and revenues; (2) extraordinary expenditures and revenues; (3) railway construction; (4) increase and decrease of national property; (5) double entry.1

Public improvements are as a rule included in the part of extraordinary expenditures.

There are some special accounts attached to the budgets of certain ministries, as, for instance, one for railways attached to the budget of the ministry of public works; one for worship, attached to that of the ministry of justice. Upon these accounts the budget committee reports separately, just as they report separately upon each of the eleven budgets.

Revised estimates submitted to Parliament in November are, however, submitted together by the president of the committee with a general report upon all the revenues and expenditures of the State as a single budget.

16. In the budget of the ministry of the treasury there is as a rule a section of the appropriation bill authorizing the minister to issue exchequer bonds or to contract debts with banks of issue at a reduced rate of interest.

17. The discussion of a budget must begin in the Chamber of Deputies not later than March 1, and be closed not later than June 30. The budget submitted to Parliament within the period are the twelve estimate budgets for the ensuing fiscal year, July 1 to June 30. Each budget is accompanied by a special report (see above) and each of them is sent to the Senate as soon as it has been passed by the Chamber of Deputies. The last budget submitted to Parliament is the budget of revenues. If they can not all be voted before June 30 by the two branches of Parliament, for those not voted Parliament passes a provisional appropriation (esercizio provvisoria) for one month, or for six months at the most; that is to say, the budgets which have not yet been voted are approved collectively, without debate, and when Parliament resumes its work this provisional appropriation is considered separately.

During the month of November the minister of treasury submits to Parliament the three following budgets; for instance, for November, 1911: (1) The actual budget for the fiscal year 1910-11; (2) revised estimates for the fiscal year 1911-12; (3) first estimate for the fiscal year 1912-13.

All these budgets are then transmitted to the general committee on the budget. 18. No limitation exists as to the right of individual members of Parliament in regard to amendment or criticism of financial items.

19. First. The reports of the general committee on the budget. Second. The report of the control of the treasury (corte dei conti).

Third. The heads of special important divisions-as, for instance, that of the railway administration, customs, stamp duties, posts, telegraphs, etc.—and many directors general in the ministries print their special reports, which are distributed to members of Parliament.

1 This expression means the custom of charging against the Government for rent, postage, and other outlay by Government departments and the aggregate amount is adjusted before the final passage of the budget. This explains the term "double entry," used above.

20. All expenditures are yearly. Only the civil list of the King is fixed once for all by the first Parliament, which assembles after the accession to the throne of the new King.

21. Each new measure is considered separately.

22. See answer to question No. 16, above.

23. There is no provision. (See explanation in reply to question No. 2, above.) 24. If it is omitted purposely, this means that the institution is abandoned. If, however, the institution exists in pursuance of a law already enacted, it can not be omitted from the budget prepared by the executive power whose essential function is the execution of acts of Parliament.

LIBERIA.

MONROVIA, January 24, 1912.

1. There is no definite date fixed prior to which the budget must be voted each year, but this item of legislative business is annually attended to by the legislature at any time during the regular session in December.

2. No money can be expended by the treasury department except upon appropriation annually made by the legislature, except in case of an unforeseen emergency, such as war, or demand for well-grounded indemnity, etc., arising during the recess of the legislature.

3. In the House of Representatives, one of the branches of the legislature, subject to the concurrence of the Senate.

4. Appropriation bills or budgets must be voted by the legislature and approved by the President of the Republic before money can be expended from the treasury. 5. All appropriations are considered at one time as a budget, and when legislative grants are made by special legislative enactments the same forms a part of the annual budget.

6. The answer to number five covers a part of number six. The budget for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1911, is $581,954.46. These apparently enormous figures represent appropriations to cover expenses already incurred, such as balances due accounts Cape Palmas War, New Cess War, Grand Bassa County, and Nanna Kroo War, Sinoe County; as well as appropriations covering sinking-fund interest on loans of 1871 and 1906 and payment of customs inspectors.

7. As previously stated, the appropriation bill or budget originates in the House of Representatives or in committee of the whole house. In the latter case the findings of the committee of the whole are reported to and adopted by the House in the usual way of passing any other enactment. The bill or budget having passed its several readings and passed into law, is by the House then forwarded to the Senate and in a similar measure passed into law, then presented by the enrolling committee to the President for his approval, when it has the force of law.

8. By the heads of departments or by a conference of the heads of departments, with the appropriate standing committees of both branches of the legislature. 9. By the secretary of the treasury.

10. Usually by the heads of the departments through the President.

11. The advisability of and necessity for the appropriation and the amount of the appropriation requested.

12. No prescribed form used.

13. All such information or suggestions, based upon the circumstances surrounding the like expenditure for the past year and the contingencies likely to arise during the current year, which warrant the granting of the appropriation requested.

14. Yes.

15. No; but all estimates for current expenses, public improvements, and capital outlays are included and set out in the budget annually.

16. Only when the necessity arises during the session of the legislature; otherwise the bond issues and other borrowings are undertaken by the executive government in cases of emergency and same laid before the next session of the legislature by the President and the necessary legislation obtained.

17. If financial bills arise in either branch of the legislature, as for the provisions for paying money already borrowed by the executive government or authorizing the borrowing by the executive, the bill in the former case authorizes the payment, and the manner of so doing, with the rate of interest stipulated by the executive and the lender, and in the latter case the bill names the amount to be borrowed and generally empowers the executive to do so upon the best possible terms in the interest of Government. All such financial bills are enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives and approved by the President as all other laws.

18. They have no other rights or privileges than those granted to members of legislative bodies under the parliamentary rules laid down by Cushing and Jefferson in their manuals of legislative proceedings, which rules are adopted by our legislature as their guide.

19. The President's annual message to the legislature, the reports of the secretary of state on foreign affairs, the secretary of the treasury's report on finance, the attorney general on judicial matters, the secretary of war and navy on war and naval affairs, the secretary of the interior on native African affairs, the postmaster general on postal affairs, and the secretary of education on educational affairs are all accessible to members of the legislature as a basis for individual consideration of financial meas

ures.

20. All classes of expenditures are financed by annual appropriations (or budget) passed into law annually by the legislature.

21. All revenue measures involving receipts and expenditures of public moneys are, though authorized by special legislative enactment, added to the budget or appropriation bill.

22. Bond issues and borrowing or authorization to borrow money, if the necessity arises during the session of the legislature, are passed at the time the budget or appropriation bill is passed, otherwise the bonds are issued or money borrowed (in an emergency) and legislation afterwards secured by the President.

23. The President by a loan meets the deficit and secures an appropriation by the legislature at its next session to meet the payment.

24. All payments on account of such are suspended until the legislature at the next session renews the appropriation, either covering the time for which the appropriation was omitted, as well as a renewal, or they may only renew payment from the date of the granting of the new appropriation.

Statement by Mr. William D. Crum, American minister resident.—A fact worthy of note is that the budget for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1911, carried an amount of $581,954.46, which was considerably in excess of the receipts for the year. This year the legislature has approved a budget calling for the expenditure of $238,391, which is a reduction of more than 50 per cent, and it is asserted that the receipts for Government purposes for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1912, will be ample to meet all the requirements under the budget for this year. This great modification in preparing the budget and making provision for Government expenditures by the legislature has come about through an earnest desire to meet the conditions that will be imposed under the financial reorganization which is now pending.

LUXEMBURG.

THE HAGUE, February 9, 1912.

1. Article 104 of the constitution of October 17, 1878, stipulates that the chamber shall vote the budget every year; no date is fixed. It is submitted to the Chamber of Deputies at the commencement of the session which immediately precedes the operations. (Art. 1 of the law on State accounts of Jan. 9, 1852.) The opening of the chamber takes place the first Tuesday after the 3d of November.

2. Article 20 of the law on State accounts of January 9, 1852, says that when "the urgency for a payment is extreme and of such a nature that any delay might com

promise the service of the state and disturb the public order, the order of payment can be temporarily issued, subsequent to an explanatory report from the council of government." The regulating of these expenses will be done in a subsequent budget.

3. The law projects emanate from the different ministerial departments which dispose of the credits concerned; they are brought before the chamber by the members of the Government after the department of finance has been heard.

4. They must be voted by the Chamber of Deputies, by the previous advice of the council of state, and sanctioned by the sovereign.

5. All expenses must be included in the budget (art. 104 of the constitution). No charge increasing the budget for more than one year can be established except by a special law. All expenditures provided for by special laws are attached to the budget for the period during which they were effected. This refers to debts which could not have been estimated at the elaboration of the project of the budget, or which are included in the budget for more than one period.

6. For the year 1911 the following sums were granted: (a) By the law of April 10, 1911, 20,000 francs for the restoration of a tract of woodland of the State (attached to art. 136 of the budget); by the law of April 10, 1911, 634,700 francs for the purchase of the Grunewald forest (attached to art. 136 bis); by the law of April 10, 1911, 6,500 francs for the expenses of care, of cultivation, etc. (art. 137); (b) law of April 16, 1911, supplement to the salaries of the State road laborers, 66,000 francs (art. 83 bis.); (c) law of May 12, 1911, police and volunteer corps, 30,825 francs (art. 39); (d) law of June 17, 1911, high school for young ladies, expenditures for service, 20,000 francs (art. 221 ter). 7. No; the law projects are submitted to the Chamber of Deputies by the members of the Government. The chamber at the commencement of the session necessarily separates into three divisions. Each section examines the propositions. After the examination they select two reporters, who, together with the president of the chamber, form the central section. The latter elects one of its members to make a report to the assembly. This report contains, besides the analysis of the deliberations of the sections and of the central section, detailed conclusions. It shall be printed and distributed before the discussion in a public session.

8. By the ministerial departments concerned.

9. By the department of finance.

10. By the members of the Government concerned; the project of the budget is submitted by the council of Government.

11. The propositions for allowances are granted as far as possible. Before being submitted to the legislature the project of the budget is reported to the council of State, which discusses it and makes its observations in a detailed report.

12. The propositions are consigned on the annexed form. (Inclosure I.)

13. When the budget for a year is submitted to the vote of the chamber it shall be accompanied by the general account of the last budget but one, by the project of law relating thereto, remarks of the chamber of accounts on the said general account, by a statement of the situation at the last budget closed and another of the current budget. (Law on the State accounts of Jan. 9, 1852, art. 37.)

14. Yes; according to article 104 of the constitution all receipts and expenditures must be given in the budget.

15. The current expenses are comprised in the ordinary budget, whereas the extraordinary budget refers to expenses to be covered by loan. The public funds and other advance funds go under a special chapter, "Receipts and expenditures to order."

16. No; the necessity of making a loan and of issuing obligations form the subject of special law propositions.

17. After the project of the budget has been submitted to the deliberation of the three sections of the chamber it is again examined by the central section, which is composed of two members of each section and the president of the chamber. The

central section chooses a reporter, who submits the remarks relating to the budget project. The general discussion on the whole project is opened; the discussion on the articles is opened on each article successively in the order in which they follow one another and on the amendments relating thereto. After the adoption of the articles the arrangements lately added to the budget in the course of the debates, the amendments adopted, and the original propositions, rejected or modified, are submitted again to discussion and to a final vote. Immediately after this second vote the chamber proceeds to take the vote on the whole law project. After the vote on the whole the president consults the chamber as to whether there is need or not for a second vote. If the second vote is not needed and the council of state agrees, the law project is definitely adopted.

18. Each deputy has the right to present amendments; no deputy speaks more than twice on the same subject unless the chamber decides otherwise.

19. The statistical information published with the budget project to which it is a supplement is addressed to each member of the legislative corps, as also the treatise on the financial situation which covers the last three years.

20. No charge noted on the budget for more than one period can be established except by a special law, e. g., salaries, pensions, etc. The expenditures resulting therefrom are annually noted in the budget.

21. The budget consists of a budget of receipts and a budget of expenditures. The budget of receipts, forming an integral part of the budget, is discussed with the latter. 22. These subjects are discussed separately; they can only be decreed by special laws.

23. In case of insufficiency of credit or of deficit the procedure taken will be the same as in the case of nonallowance, by temporary order.

24. It is the rule for funds voted as subsidies to establishments to be included in the budget.

25. Inclosed a copy of the budget project for 1912.

MEXICO.

MEXICO, December 20, 1911. 1. According to article 69 of the Federal constitution of Mexico, the executive shall submit to the House of Representatives on the 14th day of December of each year the budget for the next fiscal year and the account of expenditures of the previous fiscal year. Both of these documents are referred to a committee of five representatives, appointed on that same day, whose duty is to examine them and render their report to the house during the second session of the second period of sessions. The first period begins September 16 and ends December 15; the second period begins on the 1st of April and ends on the last day of May. The budget is voted upon during the second period.

2. No.

3. Bills may originate in any of the departments of the Federal executive power, but are generally submitted to the house by the secretary of finance.

4. By the House of Representatives.

5. During normal conditions all appropriations are included in the budget; but appropriations for special reasons may be voted by the house at any time during its regular sessions or when especially convened for the purpose of voting on an urgent appropriation.

6. See inclosure 1.

7. Acts of this kind are referred to the committee of the house which represents the special branch of the executive power from which the bill originates. The house appoints a committee representing each of the branches of the executive government, such as committee of foreign relations, government, justice, and public instruction, finance, war and marine, fomento, communication and public works, and on constitutional interpretation.