The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 8. THE CIVIL LIST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 76, 8 July 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 8. THE CIVIL LIST.

The consideration of the Civil List is at present occupying the attention of the Imperial authorities. A cable in tins I morning's issue states that the committee set up by the House of Commons recommends a similar amount to tkat granted in the last reign. According to modern practice, the Civil List may se described as a contract entered into between the Crown and the nauon whereby the former surrenders the remains of the hereditary revenue of the Crown to the nation, and in.return the nation pays an annual fixed sum to maintain the dignity of the Crown, the arrangement holding good during the lifetime of the Sovereign for the time being. Naturally, the Civil List is passed as soon after the beginning of a new reign as possible. As the Melbourne Age points out in an instructive article, the Crown, at the Conquest, was not only the theoretical owner of all the lands in the kingdom; it was the actual owner of very large tracts of land. These lands yielded revenue which were supposed to he sufficient to defray the ordinary expenses of government in times of peace. The Crown lands were frequently diminished by grants to deserving subjets, also to favorites; on the other hand, they at time received large additions from forfeiture for treason, also from escheats—that is, failures of heirs. In case of war, or on extraordinary occasions, the nation voted grants to the Crown, though under the York and •arlier Tudor kings a .system of "benevolence" obtained for a time. The GreatRebellion put an end to the medieval aspect of England, and people recognised that the modern era, growing since the times of Henry VII., was in full being, and the new conditions had to be met and legalised. The Crown estates were ludicrously inadequate for the ordinary expenses of administration, while the sums voted by Parliament were not spent to the best advantage of the nation. So, upon the Restoration, the Crown was granted, in return for the abolition of all feudal dues and rights, the annual sum of £700,000, and out of this the King had to defray certain expenses, the nation undertaking the cost of defence, general administration and other charges. But as it was stm :ne custoih to vote subsidies or taxes to the Crown, the Merry Monarch, true to his nickname, made merry witti : the revenues, and frequently converted them to his own uses, instead of carrying on the proper administration of the 1 , realm. The opportunity came at the Revolution to put matters on a more business-iike footing, an attempt being made to differentiate between the administrative expenses of the Crown necessary to maintain its dignity. We have now t&e germs of the modern Civil List. The annual grant made to King William and Queen Mary amounted to £680,000, and out of this their Majesties were expected to defray the expenses of the Household, the upkeep of the palaces, the salaries of the Lord Chancellor, Practicality the same arrangement went on under Queen Anne. George I. got £700,000, increased under the next reign to £Bos,ROO. George 111. surrendered much of the miscellaneous sources of revenue, and received in return a civil list of £700,000, but it was insufficient, owing to the Crown having to pay many officers of State and the rising cost of administration. Deficits occurred, and the Civil List had to be raised till by 1812 it stood at £1,080,000, in addition to annuities amounting to £260,000. On the accession of Queen Victoria, the Civil List was fixed at £385,000, in return for which her Majesty surrendered all the heredi-

tary revenue of the Crown for ilife. The Civil List of Queen Victoria was most

carefully appropriated; that is, Parliament decided how the money was to be spent. To the Privy purse (pocket money), and on this Queen Victoria voluntarily paid income tax, a custom followed by King Edward, £60,000; household, £131,260; expenses of household, £172,500; (Royal bounties, etc., £13,200; unappropriated (paid to the Privy purse) £BO4O. The maintenance and repair of the Royal palaces comes under the public works vote. Exert charges during Queen Victoria's reign were £40,000 to tbe Prince Consort, and £36,000 towards the maintenance of the IPrince of Wales' family. In 1901, at the accession of King Edward, the Civil List was fixed at £470,000, appropriated as follows: Privy purse of their Majesties, £110,000; salaries of household, £128,000; expenses of household, £104,000; Royal bounty, etc., £33,200; unappropriated, £4BOO. In addition, the annuities of the members of the Royal family went on. Under Queen Victoria the Prince of Wales had received £40,000 a year, and the Princess £IO,OOO, the intention r that the Prince should have an i^r

not less than £IOO,OOO, the Duchy of Cornwall yielding £60,000, and rising steadily. In consequence, at King Edward's accession, the grant of the Prince of Wales was reduced to £20,000, and last year the duchy yielded £87,000. At an early date the grant to the Prince of Wales is likely to cease, as the duchy I will yield an adequate revenue for his proper maintenance. In the same way, I the rising revenue from the Crown lands is relieving the cost to the nation of maintaining the Crown. The revenue of the Crown lands in 1884, net, was £400,000, but during the last few years has improved, and for 1908 stood at £520,000, I with a strong upward tendency, and the ;net return to the nation would be greater but for the very conservative method of management keeping large sums in hand. In 1909 the total cost to the nation of the Civil List, the allowances to the Prince and Princess of Wales, and annuities to the Royal Family, totalled £576.000; in return the nation got

a net suni of £520,000 from the Crown lands, and a considerable improvement could be expected in 1909-10. With the decreasing grant to the Prince of Wales and the growing revenue of the Crown lands and of the Duchy of Cornwall, we may expect readjustments. If the arrangements of 1901 continue, the nation should be in pocket in a very short time. The Court of State of the late King Edward is on all hands admitted to 'have been maintained with dignity and magnificence. That is due to the financial skill of Lord Farquahar, a personal friend of the King's, and formerly the

active head of a private bank, and the administrative capacity of Lord Esher. During the late Victorian period there was great waste, due to inadequate supervision, and from 1887 onwards Queen Victoria was annually out of pocket often £20,000 or more. Lord Farquahar and Esher put an end to that, and theii advice will be at the service of King George, so that the dignity of the Crown will be maintained in a way worthy jf the Empire on which the sun never sets.