§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ MR. HUNT, in moving the second reading of this Bill, said, that its object was to give Parliament a greater control over the expenditure than it possessed at present. When the Estimates were laid before the House the usual course was, in many cases, to state the whole estimated expenditure, to deduct the receipts anticipated by the department, and then to ask Parliament to vote the balance. But it frequently happened that a much larger sum was received by the departments than appeared on the Estimates, and might be expended by them without the sanction of Parliament. Now, what this Bill proposed was that the Treasury should have power to direct that the entire receipts should be paid directly into the Exchequer, so that Parliament should be asked to vote the whole of the amount required; or, that if a deduction was made for receipts, then to direct that all receipts above that amount should be so paid in, so that if there was an excess over the estimated receipts the department should have the use of that portion only for which it had obtained the sanction of Parliament.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read a second time."—(Mr. Hunt.)
§ Motion agreed to.
§ Bill read a second time, and committed for Monday next.