724 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



States Secretary of the Treasury. This official, who is always a 

 member of Parliament, after giving the subject careful study and 

 deliberation, communicates the result to the full Cabinet ; and then, 

 with its concurrence, which is regarded as an assumption of re- 

 sponsibility on the part of the existing Government, makes what 

 is called a " Budget " speech in the House of Commons, giving his 

 estimates of the prospective receipts of revenue for the ensuing 

 year, and proposing such changes both in respect to revenue and 

 expenditure as the Government may think advisable. The House 

 of Commons next, and at an early day, resolving itself into a Com- 

 mittee of the Whole under the name of " The Ways and Means," 

 discusses generally the proposed estimates and changes, and at a 

 subsequent period, resolving itself into what is called " The Com- 

 mittee of Supply," decides what services shall be undertaken. In 

 this committee the Secretary of State for War and the First Lord 

 of the Admiralty generally move the adoption of the estimates 

 for the army and navy which the Government has submitted, 

 and preface their motions with a statement of the general condi- 

 tion of their respective departments. The conclusions arrived 

 at in committee, are next reported to the House of Commons, 

 and embodied in a bill known as the " Inland Revenue and Cus- 

 toms Bill ; " which, after passing both Houses of Parliament and 

 receiving the " royal assent," becomes the act regulating the col- 

 lection of revenues for the ensuing fiscal year. Most of the Brit- 

 ish taxes are levied under the authority of permanent acts. Some, 

 however, as the duty on tea and the income tax, are only granted 

 for limited periods. Certain expenditures, also, are sanctioned by 

 legislation once and for all, and are not revoted every year ; such 

 as the interest on the public debt, the " dotation " of the Crown, 

 the salaries of the judges, ambassadors, and other high officials, 

 pensions, and compensations to which the public faith has been 

 pledged. Should any unforeseen demands for large expenditures 

 arise subsequent to the passage of the general revenue bill, sup- 

 plementary estimates are presented to Parliament by the ministry. 

 This, however, only happens when the deficiency is large. When 

 the deficiency is small as, for example, if the war office finds it 

 necessary to incur certain expenditures in its branch of the serv- 

 ice not provided for in the general estimates and bill it must 

 apply to the Treasury, stating the circumstances, for leave to 

 meet the expenditures by drawing on any surplus that may accrue 

 in other departments of the Government, with the exception that 

 the navy appropriation can not be applied to meet army expendi- 

 tures, and vice versa. Such permissions, if granted, are only 

 temporary. They are reported to Parliament at the earliest op- 

 portunity, and a vote sanctioning its proceedings is asked by the 

 Treasury. When any tax or duty is changed by act of Parlia- 



