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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CHR-CLI |
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CIVIL LIST , the English term for the account in which are contained all the expenses immediately applicable to the sup-port of the British sovereign's household and the honour and dignity of the crown. An annual sum is settled by the British parliament at the beginning of the reign on the sovereign, and is charged on the consolidated fund. But it is only from the reign of William IV. that the sum thus voted has been restricted solely to the personal expenses of the crown. Before his accession many charges properly belonging to the ordinary expenses of government had been placed on the civil list
list
been made between the expenses of government in time of peace and the expenses relating to the personal dignity and support of the sovereign. The ordinary revenues derived from the hereditary revenues of the crown, and from certain taxes voted for life to the king at the beginning of each reign, were supposed to provide for the support of the sovereign's dignity and the civil government, as well as for the public defence n time of peace. Any saving made by the king in the expenditure touching the government of the country or its defence would go to swell his privy purse. But with the Revolution a step forward was made towards the establishment of the principle that the expenses relating to the support of the crown should be separated from the ordinary expenses of the state. The evils of the old system under which no appropriation was made of the ordinary revenue granted to the crown for life had been made manifest in the reigns of Charles II. and James II.; it was their control of these large revenues that made them so independent of parliament. Moreover, while the civil government and the de-fences suffered, the king could use these revenues as he liked. The parliament of William and Mary fixed the revenue of the crown in time of peace at 1,200,000 per annum; of this sum about 700,000 was appropriated towards the " civil list." But from this the sovereign was to defray the expenses of the civil service and the payment of pensions, as well as the cost of the support of the royal household and his own personal expenses. It was from this that the term " civil list arose; to distinguish it from the statement of military and naval charges. The revenue voted to meet the civil list consisted of the hereditary revenues of the crown and a part of the excise duties. Certain changes and additions were made in the sources of revenue thus appropriated between the reign of William and Mary and the accession of George III., when a different system was adopted. Generally speaking, however, the sources of revenue remainedas settled at the Revolution.Anne had the same civil list, estimated to produce an annual income of 70o,000. During her reign a debt of 1,200,000 was incurred. This debt was paid by parliament and Anne, charged on the civil list itself. George I. enjoyed the George/ same revenue by parliamentary grant, in addition to and an annual sum of 120,000 on the aggregate fund. George Ii. A debt of 1,000,00o was incurred, and discharged by parliament in the same manner as Anne's debt had been. To George II: a civil list of 800,000 as a minimum was granted, parliament undertaking to make up any deficiency if the. sources of income appropriated to its service fell short of that sum. Thus in 1746 a debt of 456,00o was paid by parliament on the civil list, On the accession of George III. a change was made in the system of the civil list. Hitherto the sources of revenue appropriated to the service of the civil list had been settled on the crown. If these revenues exceeded the sum they Clearge'tl1 were computed to produce annually, the surplus went to the king.. George III., however, surrendered the life- interest
the civil list expenditure, and any claim to a surplus for a fixed amount.' The king still retained other large sources of revenue which were not included in the civil list, and were free from the control of parliament. The revenues from which the civil list had been defrayed were henceforward to be carried into, and made part of, the aggregate fund. In their place a fixed civil list was grantedat first of 723,00o per annum, to be increased to 800,00o on the falling in of certain annuities to members of the royal family. From this 800,000 the king's household and the honour and dignity of the crown were to be supported, as well as the civil service offices, pensions and other charges still laid on the list. During the reign of George III. the civil list played an import- ant part in the history of the struggle on the part of the king to establish the royal ascendancy. From the revenue appropri- ated to its service came a large portion of the money employed by the king in creating places and pensions for his supporters in parliament, and, under the colour of the royal bounty , briberywas practised on a large scale. No limit was set to the amount applicable to the pensions charged on the civil list, so long as the sum granted could meet the demand; and there was no principle on which the grant was regulated. Secret pensions at the king'spleasure were paid out of it, and in every way the independence of parliament was menaced; and though the more legitimate expenses of the royal household were diminished by the king's penurious style of living, and though many charges not directly connected with the king's personal expenditure were removed, the amount was constantly exceeded, and applications were made from time to time to parliament to pay off debts incurred; and thus opportunity was given for criticism. In 1769 a debt of 513,511 was paid off in arrears; and in spite of the demand for accounts and for an inquiry into the cause of the debt, the ministry succeeded in securing this vote without indebted- granting such information. All attempts to investigate Hess of tvuttst the civil list were successfully resisted, though Lord Chatham went so far as to declare himself convinced that the funds were expended in corrupting members of parliament. Again, in 1777, an application was made to parliament to pay off 618,340 of debts; and in view of the growing discontent Lord North no longer dared to withhold accounts. Yet, in spite of strong opposition and free criticism, not only was the amount voted, but also a further Ioo,000 per annum, thus raising the civil list to an annual sum of 900,000. In 1779, at a time when the expenditure of the country and the national debt had been enormously increased by the American War, the general dissatisfaction found voice in parliament, and the abuses of the civil list were specially singled out for attack. Many petitions were presented to the House of Commons praying for its reduction, and a motion was made in the House of Lords in the same sense, though it was rejected. In 1780 Burke brought forward his scheme of economic reform, but his name was already associated with the growing desire to remedy the evils of the civil list by the publication in 1769 of his pamphlet on " The Causes of the Present Discontent." In this scheme Burke freely animadverts on the profusion and abuse of the civil list, criticizing the useless and obsolete offices and the offices performed by deputy. In every department he discovers jobbery, waste and peculation. His proposal was that the many offices should be reduced and consolidated, that the pension list should be brought down to a fixed sum of 60,000 per annum, and that pensions should be conferred only to reward merit or fulfil real public charity. All pensions were to be paid at the exchequer. He proposed also that the civil list should be divided into classes, an arrangement which later was carried into effect. In t 78o Burke succeeded in bringing in his Establishment Bill; but though at first it met with considerable support, and was even read a second time, Lord North's government defeated it in committee. The next year the bill was again introduced into the House of Commons, and Pitt made his first speech in its favour. The bill was, however, lost on the second reading.In 1782 the Rockingham ministry, pledged to economicreform, came into power; and the Civil List Act 1782 was introduced and carried with the express object of limiting the patronage and influence of ministers, or, in other cm/ Gist words, the ascendancy of the crown over parliament. as 1782. Not only did the act effect the abolition of a number of useless offices, but it also imposed restraints on the issue of secret service money, and made provision for a more effectual supervision of the royal expenditure. As to the pension list, the annual amount was to be limited to 95,000; no pension to any one person was to exceed 1200, and all pensions were to be paid at the exchequer, thus putting a stop to the secret pensions payable during pleasure. Moreover, pensions were only to be bestowed in the way of royal bounty for persons in distress or as a reward for merit. Another very important change was made by this act: the civil list was divided into classes, and a fixed amount was to be appropriated to each class. The following were the classes:Pensions and allowances of the royal family. Payment of salaries of lord chancellor, speaker and judges. Salaries of ministers to foreign courts resident at the same. Approved bills of tradesmen, artificers and labourers for any article supplied and work done for His Majesty's service. Menial servants of the household. Pension list. Salaries of all other places payable out of the civil list revenues. Salaries and pensions of treasurer or commissioners of the treasury and of the chancellor of the exchequer. Yet debt was still the condition of the civil list down to the end of the reign, in spite of the reforms established by the Rockingham ministry, and notwithstanding the removal from the list of many charges unconnected with the king's personal expenses. The debts discharged by parliament between 1782, the date of the passing of the Civil List Act, and the end of George III.'s reign, amounted to 2,300,000. In all, during his reign 3,398,061 of debt owing by the civil list was paid off. With the regency the civil list was increased by 70,000 per annum, and a special grant of 100,000 was settled on the prince regent. In 1816 the annual amount was settled at 1,083,727, including the establishment of the king, now insane; though the civil list was relieved from some annuities payable to the royal family. Nevertheless, the fund still continued charged with such civil expenses as the salaries of judges, ambassadors and officers of state, and with pensions granted for public services. Other reforms were made as regards the definition of the several classes of expenditure, while the expenses of the royal household were henceforth to be audited by a treasury officialthe auditor of the civil list. On the accession of George IV. the civil list, freed from the expenses of the late king, was settled at 845,727. On William IV. coming to the throne a sum of Sro,000 per annum was fixed for the service of the civil list. The king at the same time surrendered all the sources of revenue enjoyed by his predecessors, apart from the civil list, represented by the hereditary revenues of Scotlandthe Irish civil list, the droits of the crown and admiralty, the 4 % duties, the West India duties, and other casual revenues hitherto vested in the crown, and independent of parliament. The revenues of the duchy of Lancaster
Earl
The civil list of Queen Victoria was settled on the same principles as that of William IV. A considerable reduction was made in the aggregate annual sum voted, vctoe$,8 from 510,000 to 385,000, and the pension list was civtt/ist separated from the ordinary civil list. The civil list proper was divided into the following five classes, with a fixed sum appropriated to each: I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 8. Privy purse . 60,000 Salaries of household . 131,260 Expenses of household . 172,500 Royal bounty, &c.. 13,200 Unappropriated . 8,040 In addition the queen might, on the advice of her ministers, grant pensions up to 1200 per annum, in accordance with a resolution of the House of Commons of February 18th, 1834, " to such persons as have just claims on the royal beneficence or who, by their personal services to the crown, by the performance of duties to the public, or by their useful discoveries in science and attainments in literature and art, have merited the gracious consideration of the sovereign and the gratitude of their country." The service of these pensions increased the annual sum devoted to support the dignity of the crown and the expenses of the household to about 409,000. The list of pensions must be laid before parliament within thirty days of loth June. Thus the civil list was reduced in amount, and relieved from the very charges which gave it its name as distinct from the statement of military and naval charges. It now really only dealt with the support of the dignity and honour of the crown and the royal household. The arrangement was most successful, and during the last three reigns there was no application to parliament for the discharge of debts incurred on the civil list. The death of Queen Victoria rendered it necessary that a renewed provision should be made for the civil list; and King Civil List Edward VII., following former precedents, placed Act 1901. unreservedly at the disposal of parliament his heredi- tary revenues. A select committee of the House of Commons was appointed to consider the provisions of the civil list for the crown, and to report also on the question of grants for the honourable support and maintenance of Her Majesty the Queen and the members of the royal family. The committee in their conclusions were guided to a considerable extent by the actual civil list expenditure during the last ten years of the last reign, and made certain recommendations which, without undue interference with the sovereign's personal arrangements, tended towards increased efficiency and economy
It may be interesting to compare with the British civil list the corresponding figures in other countries. These are as follows,the figures being those, for convenience, of 1905. Spain, 280,000, exclusive of allowances to members of the royal family; Portugal, 97,333, in addition to 1333 to the queen-consorttotal Figures in grant to the royal family, 116,700; Italy, 602,000, other from which was deducted 16,000 for the children of the countries. deceased Prince Amedeo, duke of Aosta, 16,000 to Prince Tommaso, duke of Genoa, and 40,000 to Queen Margherita; Belgium, 140,000; Netherlands, 50,000, with, in addition, 4000 for the maintenance of the royal palaces; Germany, 770,500 (Krondotalions Rente), the sovereign also possessing large private property (Kronfideikommiss and Schatullguter), the revenue from which contributed to the expenditure of the court and the members of the royal family; Denmark, 55,500, in addition to 6600 to the heir -apparent; Norway, 38,888; Sweden, L72,700; Greece, 52,000, which included 4000 each from Great Britain, France and Russia; Austria-Hungary, 941,666, made up of 387,500 as emperor of Austria but of the revenues of Austria, and 554,166 as king of Hungary out of the revenues of Hungary; Japan, 300,000; Rumania, 47,000, in addition to revenues from certain crown lands; Servia, 48,000; Bulgaria, 40,000, besides 30,000 for maintenance of palaces, &c.; Montenegro, 8300; Russia had no civil list, the sovereign having all the revenue from the crown domains (actual amount unknown, but supposed to amount to over 14,000,000); the president of the French Republic had a salary of 24,000 a year, with a further 24,000 for expenses; and the president of the United States had a salary of $50,000 (from 1909, $95,000).End of Article: CIVIL LIST If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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