Estimates-1928 — Page 3

General.

Warrant.

Special

Warrant.

The Appropriation Law having received the sanction of the Secretary of State gives authority to incur the expenditure to the Governor only. The Governor devolves his authority on officers controlling heads of expenditure, first, in respect of Personal Emoluments and other Services of a uniform nature by means of a General Warrant annexed to a detailed Schedule of the relevant part of the Estimates addressed to the Treasurer; and secondly, in respect of all other items appearing in the Estimates, by periodical approval of requisitions submitted by officers and countersigned by the Treasurer.

Where expenditure is to be incurred which, being a uniform service, is not fully provided for on the Schedule of the General Warrant, or being a non-uniform service, is not fully provided for in the rest of the approved Estimates, a special warrant signed by the Governor is required. This warrant is also directed to the Treasurer and has the effect of supplementing the General Warrant or enabling the Treasurer to countersign a requisition. The proposal for which the expenditure is required may clearly involve any one of three things, namely an excess over the Head; an excess, only, over a sub-head; or merely an excess over an item, and it is necessary when applying for such warrant clearly to specify the position; for in the first case a Supplementary Appropriation bill will be involved; in the second; a Supplementary Vote; and in the third, the warrant alone will suffice. It will be seen that unless the excess on the 'item' can be met by savings on another item of the same sub-head an excess on the sub-head must result and similarly unless the excess on a sub-head can be met by savings on another sub-head of the same head an excess on the head must result. An excess, therefore, even on an 'item'

may involve an excess not only on the sub-head but even on the head itself.

The expression 'savings' which must be confined to savings on sub-heads sanctioned by the annual Estimates need not be restricted to actual savings (arising, for example, out of the abandonment of a proposal for which money has been appropriated) but may include anticipated savings. It must, however, be under- stood that 'anticipated savings' means money now available which, so far as can be foreseen, will not be needed for the purpose for which it was allotted.

It should not be confused with the anticipation for a more immediate purpose of funds which will ultimately be so needed.

If it is proposed to draw on such funds they should be described not as "savings" but as "funds not immediately required".