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whose salaries are charged upon the Civil List, that they should continue to enjoy their present emoluments during the term for which the ar- rangements had been made. But while the Com-

bined Court was informed that upon this ground its right to revise the Civil List must be resisted, it was at the same time intimated to it that if any of the offices charged upon that List should become vacant, any reasons which might be ad- duced for reducing the emoluments before an appointment was made, should be fully considered. Professing to avail itself of this declaration, the Combined Court, on the relinquishment of the Government by Sir H. Light, proposed a reduction in the salary of the office of Governor; but instead of applying to the Crown to consent to the pro- posed reduction, the Court proceeded at once strike off the amount from the estimate; and upon the Lieutenant-Governor declining to accede to this measure, refused to sanction a renewal of the annual taxes by which the ways and means

for meeting the expenditure are provided.

to

It was in vain pointed out to the Combined Court that if the annual Supply Bill were passed in the usual form, it might then, by an address to the Queen, apply for a reduction of the Governor's salary; and if sufficient reasons should be shown for the measure, there would be no indisposition on the part of the Servants of the Crown to advise Her Majesty to consent to it but that it was impossible to allow the reduction to be carried in manner which involved an exercise by the Court of the power of setting aside the whole arrangement to which only a few years ago it had deliberately hound itself for a definite time.

To have allowed the reduction to have been carried in the manner proposed would obviously have been to surrender all security for any portion of the Civil List beyond the good pleasure of the Court, and to permit an usurpation as palpably contrary to all law and reason, as it would be if the House of Commons were to insist upon repeal-- ing the Civil List or any grant permanently charged by Act of Parliament on the Consolidated Fund without the assent of Her Majesty or the

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.

Reference :--

885

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO