Estimates-1928 — Page 2

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NOTES ON TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN CONNECTION

WITH THE ESTIMATES.

Bill.

The Bill introduced annually to the Legislature to appropriate by law a Appropriation specified sum to each of a number of approved Heads of expenditure (in addition to any sums already appropriated by other laws) for the public service for the ensuing year. When the Bill is passed it becomes the Appropriation Law.

Appropriation Law.

A detailed statement under Heads, Sub-divisions, Sub-heads and items of the Estimates. whole of the anticipated revenue and expenditure on the public service for the ensuing year submitted by the Colonial Secretary to the Legislature with the Appropriation Bill.

The estimates will include any expenditure which being already appropriated by law (e.g. Defence Contribution) requires no further appropriation; and to this extent and also in so far as they relate to revenue they are submitted for information only, the object being to show both the source from which the expenditure is likely to be met and also any existing claims on that source. In so far as they relate to expenditure for which sanction is being asked, the Estimates in relation to the Bill are also mainly explanatory being embodied in the Bill only to the extent that the Heads of expenditure in the Estimates are the same as the Heads of appropriation in the Bill.

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Law.

Consequently an amendment to the Estimates will only involve an amendment to the Appropriation Law if it concerns the Heads of Expenditure. Thus an excess over a Head of Estimates must be provided for by a Supplementary Appropriation Supplementary Law. An excess on a sub-head only involves no such amendment. But, by Appropriation relation to the legislature itself, the passing of the Bill is conventionally regarded as settling also the sub-heads of the Estimates. And in consequence any excess on a sub-head requires the approval of the legislature which is accorded by a Supplement- Supplementary ary Vote.

The 'items' (or details of sub-heads) are, on the other hand, treated by the legislature as explanatory only, but by the executive as instructions. And in con- sequence the officer in charge of the spending department is required to obtain the Governor's authority before incurring any excess on any item'.

'Sub-divisions' of the Estimates are again purely descriptive so far as the legislature is concerned. But the main sub-division between Personal Emoluments and Other Charges is expressly laid down by Colonial Regulations and is intended to mark the source from which savings should primarily be sought to meet a deficit on any particular sub-head. That is to say, where a deficit under any sub-head of the sub-division "Other Charges" has to be met, savings should be sought not from the sub-division "Personal Emoluments' but from another

another sub-head of "Other Charges".

Vote..

A head of expenditure is, then, one of the compartments to which money is Head. appropriated in the Appropriation Law or other law appropriating expenditure. Normally each department of the Government Service has its own Head and the Public Works Department has in addition two Heads, Public Works Recurrent and Public Works Extraordinary.

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A sub-head is one of the separate compartments into which a head of Sub-head. expenditure is divided. Every service of a distinctive character is allotted a sub-head (e.g. Personal Emoluments), and no sub-head may be exceeded except by resolution of the legislature.

An item is the detailed 'make-up' of a sub-head (e.g. 10 Police Sergeants Item. $15,000; 100 Constables $15,000 are items of the sub-head Personal Emoluments).

A cross-division consisting of a single sub-head or a number of sub-heads Sub-division. grouped for descriptive and administrative purposes e.g. the Sub-divisions Personal Emoluments (a single sub-head) and Other Charges (a group of several sub-heads).