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covered, to be again squandered and dispersed. In Their rethree years, Charles II. had reduced the income of the subsequent crown lands from 217,900l. to 100,000l. a year. In the waste. first year of his reign he surrendered the Court of Wards and Liveries, and the military tenures, in exchange for a settlement of certain duties of excise1; being the first instance of a surrender by the Crown, of its interest in any part of the hereditary revenues. During this reign, a large proportion of the fee-farm rents belonging to the Crown, was sold by Act of Parliament 2; and further grants of these rents were made during the reigns of William III. and Queen Anne. The liberality of William III. to his followers, provoked remonstrances from Parliament. He was even obliged to recall an enormous grant to the Earl of Portland, which conveyed to that nobleman four-fifths of the county of Denbigh, with a reserved rent of 6s. 8d., payable to the Crown 3: but he compensated the Earl with other lands and manors. 4 ;

6

So jealous were the Commons, at this period, of the continual diminution of the hereditary revenues of the Crown, that several bills were brought in to resume all grants made by Charles II. and James II. 5, and to prevent further alienations of crown lands. At the end of William's reign, Parliament having obtained accounts of the state of the land revenues, found that they had been reduced by grants, alienations, incumbrances, reversions, and pensions, until they scarcely exceeded the rent-roll of a squire.

1 12 Car. II. c. 24.

2 22 Car. II. c. 6; 22 and 23 Car. II. c. 24.

31695 Parl. Hist. v. 978; Com. Journ. xi. 391, 395, 409.

4 Com. Journ. xi. 608.

5 In 1697, 1699, 1700, 1702, and

1703: Com. Journ., xii. 90; Ib.
xiii. 208, 350; Ib. xiv. 95, 269, 305,
&c.

6 In 1697 and 1699, Com. Journ.
xii. 90; 1b. xiii. 62.

7 Com. Journ., xiii. 478, 498 : St. John on the Land Revenues, 99.

Alienations of Crown

lands restrained.

Constitu

tional re

improvi

dence of

Such an abuse of the rights of the Crown could no longer be tolerated; and on the settlement of the civil list of Queen Anne, Parliament at length interposed to restrain it. It was now nearly too late. The sad confession was made, "that the necessary expenses of supporting the Crown, or the greater part of them, were formerly defrayed by a land revenue, which had, from time to time, been impaired by the grants of former kings and queens, so that Her Majesty's land revenues could then afford very little towards the support of her Government."1 Yet to preserve what was still left, it was now provided that no future lease (except a building lease) should be granted for more than thirty-one years, or three lives; and that a reasonable rent should be reserved. If such a law as this had been passed immediately after the Restoration, the land revenues would probably have provided for the entire charge of the civil list of Queen Anne. But at least the small remnant of crown lands was saved; and in that and the next two reigns, some additions were made to the royal estates, by escheats and forfeitures. 2

While this waste of the crown property had been sults of the injurious to the public revenues, it favoured the development of the liberties of the people. Kings with vast hereditary revenues,-husbanded and improved,-would have been comparatively independent of Parliament. But their improvidence gradually constrained them

kings.

1 1 Anne, c. 7, s. 5.

2 Much curious learning is to be found concerning the land revenues of the Crown in Wright's Tenures; Hargrave's Notes to Coke on Littleton; Coke's 1st Inst.; Spelman's Works (of Feuds); Lord Hale's History of the Common Law;

Gilbert's Hist. of the Exchequer; Maddox's Hist. of the Exchequer ; Davenant on Resumptions; Dugdale's Monasticon; Rymer's Fœdera; Rapin's Hist.; and an interesting summary in St. John's Observations on the Land Revenues of the Crown, 4to., 1787.

to rely upon the liberality of their subjects; and their own necessities, and the increasing expenditure of the state, at length placed them entirely under the control of Parliament.

settle

the Crown.

of the

Revolution.

No constitutional change has been more important in Importance securing popular control over the executive Government of the ment, than the voting of supplies by the House of Com- revenues of mons: nor has any expedient been better calculated to restrain the undue influence of the Crown, than a strict settlement of its revenues by Parliament. In the reign Revenues of Charles II., the principle of appropriating supplies Crown to specific services by statute, which had not been prior to the without previous recognition, -was formally established as one of the conditions, under which Parliament granted money for the service of the state. But until the Revolution, no limitation had been imposed upon the personal expenditure of the sovereign. It had been customary for Parliament to grant to the king, at the commencement of each reign, the ordinary revenues of the Crown, which were estimated to provide, in time of peace, for the support of His Majesty's dignity and civil government, and for the public defence. To these were added, from time to time, special grants for extraordinary occasions. The ordinary revenues were derived, first, from the hereditary revenues of the Crown itself, and, secondly, from the produce of taxes voted to the king for life. The hereditary revenues consisted of the rents of crown lands, of feudal rights, the proceeds of the post-office, and wine licenses; and, after the surrender of feudal tenures by Charles II., in 1660, of part of the excise duties.

In the reign of James II. the hereditary revenues, together with the taxes voted for the king's life,

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Settlement

of the "Civil

List" of

William

amounted on an average to 1,500,9647. a year.1 Whatever remained of this annual income, after the payment of the necessary expenses of the Government, was at the king's absolute disposal,-whether for the support of his dignity and influence, or for his pleasures and profusion. Not satisfied with these resources for his personal expenditure, there is no doubt that Charles II. applied to his own privy purse, large sums of money which had been specially appropriated by Parliament, for carrying on the war.2

To prevent such abuses in future, on the accession of William and Mary, Parliament made a separate provision for the king's "Civil List," which emand Mary. braced the support of the royal household, and the personal expenses of the king, as well as the payment of civil offices and pensions. The revenue voted for the support of the Crown in time of peace, was 1,200,000l.; of which the Civil List amounted to about 700,000l., being derived from the hereditary revenues of the Crown, estimated at 400,000l. a year and upwards, and from a part of the excise duties, proThe Civil ducing about 300,000l. The system thus introduced prised was continued in succeeding reigns; and the Civil List still comprised not only the expenses of the sovereign, penditure. but a portion of the civil expenditure of the state. The Civil List of Queen Anne was settled by Parliament in the same form, and computed at the same amount as that of William III.4 Her Majesty, while she feared the revenue granted to her would fall

List com

items of

national ex

Civil List of Queen

Anne.

1 Parl. Hist. v. 151; Hallam, Const. Hist. ii. 279.

2 Lord Clarendon's Life, iii. 131; Pepys' Diary, Sept. 23rd, and Dec. 12th, 1666, whence it appears that above 400,000l. had gone into the

Privy Purse since the War. Memoirs, iii. 47, 105.

3 Parl. Hist. v. 193; Com. Journ. x. 438, 54; Smollett and Hallam state the Civil List at 600,0007. 4 1 Anne, c. 7.

short of that enjoyed by the late king, promised that 100,000l. a year should be applied to the public service.1 So far, however, from fulfilling this promise, during the twelve years of her reign, she incurred debts amounting to 1,200,000l., which were paid off by Parliament, by way of loans charged upon the Civil List itself.

the First.

The Civil List of George I. was computed at 700,000l. of George a year; and, during his reign, debts were incurred to the extent of 1,000,000l., which were discharged by Parliament, in the same manner.2

3

the Second.

The hereditary revenues were continued to George II., Of George with a proviso that if they should produce less than 800,000l. a year, Parliament would make up the deficiency. The king, however, was entitled to any surplus above that sum. This was an approximation to a definite Civil List, as the minimum at least was fixed. For the last five years of his reign these revenues had risen, on an average, to 829,155l. a year: but during the whole of his reign, they amounted to less than 800,000l. In 1746 a debt of 456,000l. on the Civil List was discharged by Parliament. This debt was stated by the king to have been incurred in consequence of the hereditary revenues having fallen short of 800,000/ a year; and Parliament was, therefore, bound by the terms of its original contract, to make up the deficiency.

On the accession of George III., the king consented Civil List of to make such a disposition of his interest in the heredi- George III. tary revenues of the Crown in England, as Parliament

might think fit.

1 Parl. Hist. vi. 11.

Hitherto the Crown had enjoyed

21 Geo. I., c. 1.; Burke's Works, ii. 309.

3 1 Geo. II. c. 1.

4 Report on Civil List, 1815, p. 4; Burke's Works, ii. 310.

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