your Majesty's royal family, or which in the least contributes to the splendor of your court;" and that in fact he only intended to reduce the patronage and influence of the ministers. On the 15th April, 1782, a message from the king was sent to both Houses, recommending economy in all branches of the public expenditure, and stating that he had already considered the reform and regulation of his civil establishment. Well' might Mr. Burke congratulate the House of Commons and the country on so favorable a change in the policy of the Government, and on the attitude of the king towards his people. In both Houses this communication was cordially received and acknowledged. It was soon followed by another, which though not so satisfactory, at least afforded convincing proof of the necessity of that economy which had been already recommended. Debt, 1782. The king was now obliged to announce to Parliament another debt upon his Civil List; but instead of Civil List proposing that it should be discharged, as on previous occasions, out of the general revenues of the state, he intimated that its liquidation was to be secured by intended reductions of the Civil List establishment. Notwithstanding the recent additions to the Civil List, the arrears now amounted to 295,8777.; and the proposed savings, instead of being available either to the king or to the country, would thus become immediately mortgaged for the payment of a debt, by annual instalments. The Civil List Act of Lord Rockingham, though falling short of Mr. Burke's original proposal, was never- Civil List Act theless a considerable measure. Many useless of 1782. offices were abolished, restraints were imposed upon the issue of secret-service money, the Pension List was diminished, and securities were provided for a more effectual supervision of the royal expenditure. And now, for the first time, the Civil List expenditure was divided into 1 Lord Rockingham's Letter to the King. - Rock. Mem. ii. 477. 2 Parl. Hist. xxii. 1269. Wraxall's Mem. 43-47, 54. classes, eight in number, which led to more important changes hereafter.1 Subsequent reign. But debt continued to be the normal condition of the Civil List throughout the reign of George III. debts in this Again and again applications were renewed to Parliament; and the debts discharged at different periods after 1782, exceeded 2,300,000l. From the beginning to the end of this reign, the several arrears paid off by Parliament, exclusive of the debt of 300,000l. charged on the Civil List in 1782, amounted to 3,398,0007.2 Surplus of hereditary revenues. In defence of these continued excesses it was urged, that they were more than defrayed by the surplus of the hereditary revenues, which the king had surrendered; and which, in 1815, exceeded by upwards of 6,000,000l. the entire expenditure of the Civil List since the accession of the king, including all the debts which had been paid off by Parliament, and the charges from which the Civil List had been relieved.3 Charges removed from Meanwhile the Civil List continued to comprise charges. wholly unconnected with the personal comfort and dignity of the sovereign, the salaries of judges, ambassadors, and other officers of state, annuities to members of the royal family, and pensions the Civil List. 1 22 Geo. III. c. 82; Parl. Hist. xxii. 1395; Ibid. xxiii. 121. Report on Civil List, 1815, p. 4; Speech of Mr. Spring Rice, Nov. 23d, 1837.- Hansard's Debates, 3d Ser., xxxix. 144. 8 Report on Civil List, 1815, p. 4. granted for public services, all of which were more fairly chargeable to the state revenues, than to the Civil List of the Crown. From many of these charges the Civil List was, from time to time, relieved, amounting, between the accession of George III. and 1815, to 9,561,3967.1 of the Re On the expiration of the first year of the Regency, in 1812, the Civil List was increased by 70,000l. a Regulation of year, and a special grant of 100,000l. was voted the Civil List to the Prince Regent. In 1816 the Civil List gency. was settled at 1,083,7277., including the establishment of the king; and its expenditure was, at the same time, subjected to further regulation. It was relieved from some of the annuities to the royal family: the payments on account of the several classes of expenditure were defined and controlled; and the expenses of the royal household were subjected to the supervision and audit of a treasury officer, the auditor of the Civil List.3 Civil List on George IV. King George IV., on his accession, expected a larger Civil List than he had enjoyed as Prince Regent ; but yielding to the persuasion and remonstrances accession of of his ministers, he stated in his speech from the throne, that so far from desiring any arrangement which would lead to the imposition of new burdens upon his people, he had no wish to alter the settlement adopted by Parliament in 1816.4 The Civil List being now free from the expenses of the late king, was fixed by Parliament at 845,7277. Other reveBut during the whole of this reign the king en nues of the joyed, in addition to this income, the hereditary revenues of Scotland, amounting on an average to 109,000l., 1 Report on Civil List, 1815, p. 5. 2 52 Geo. III. c. 6, 7; Hans. Deb. 1st Ser. xxi. 151, &c. 8 56 Geo. III. c. 46. Crown. 4 Twiss's Life of Eldon, ii. 363; Hansard's Debates, 2d Ser., i. 11. This concession, "if report be true, was obtained by nothing but the most determined refusal of the Ministers to do more." - Mr. T. Grenville to the Marquis of Buckingham, May 4th, 1820. and the Civil List for Ireland of 250,000l. He also received the Droits of the Crown and Admiralty, the 4 per cent. duties, the West India duties, and other casual revenues, which were still vested in the Crown, and independent of Parliament.1 Civil List of King William IV., on his accession, for the first time surrendered the interest of the Crown in all these sources of revenue, and accepted a Civil List of 510,000l. The future expenditure of this amount was divided into five different classes, to each of which a specific annual sum was appropriated, including a Pension List of 75,000l. At the same time, the Civil List was still further relieved from charges, which more properly belonged to the civil government of the State. These charges included judicial salaries, which had been paid partly out of the Civil List, partly out of the Consolidated Fund, and partly out of the fees of the Courts, the salaries and pensions of the diplomatic service, and numerous miscellaneous expenses.2 These arrangements were not concluded until the accounts of the Civil List expenditure had been referred to a select committee of the House of Commons, and freely investigated. The Wellington ministry resisted this investigation, and fell when the settlement of the Civil List was left to the Whig ministry of Lord Grey. The committee, in their inquiries, not thinking it consistent with the respect due to his Majesty to scrutinize the details of his domestic household, nevertheless recommended several reductions in the salaries of the officers of state, amounting in the aggregate to 11,5297. The king, however, remonstrated with his ministers against the proposed reduction, saying: "If the people, according to the new (reform) bill, are really to gov 1 Report on Civil Government Charges, 1831; 1 Geo. IV. c. 1. 2 Report on Civil Government Charges, 1831; Report on Civil List Charges, 1833. 3 Hans. Deb., 3d Ser., i. 429, 526. 4 Report on the Civil List Accounts, March 21st, 1831. ern the House of Commons, and the House of Commons is to decide upon the amount of salary I am to give to my servants, then the prerogatives of the Crown will in reality pass to the people, and the monarchy cannot exist." The ministers yielded to this remonstrance, and induced the House of Commons to restore the Civil List to the amount originally proposed.1 The Civil List of Queen Victoria was settled on the same principles as that of William IV., and Civil List of amounted to 385,000l.: the only material varia- Her Majesty. tion being that in lieu of the Pension List of 75,000l., her Majesty was empowered to grant pensions annually to the extent of 1,2001. The Crown was thus finally restricted to a definite annuity for the support of its dignity, and for the personal comfort of the sovereign.2 No debts up List during It may be added, as at once a proof of the wisdom of these arrangements, and of the improved administration of our later sovereigns, that neither in on the Civil the reign of Her Most Gracious Majesty, nor in three reigns. the reigns of George IV. and William IV., has any application been made to Parliament for the discharge of debts upon the Civil List. Civil List ous charges. While the Civil List has been diminished in amount, its relief from charges with which it had formerly Importance been encumbered has placed it beyond the reach of of relieving misconstruction. The Crown repudiates the indi- from extranerect influences exercised in former reigns, and is free from imputations of corruption. And the continual increase of the civil charges of the Government, which was formerly a reproach to the Crown, is now a matter for which the House of Commons is alone responsible. In this, as in other examples of constitutional progress, apparent 1 Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 159; Hansard's Debates, 3d Ser., iii. 959. 2 Hansard's Debates, xxxix. 137, et seq. 8 Rep. 1837-8, on the Civil List. |