For the better administration of this 'Patriotic Fund,' it was deemed In 1867, another Act was passed, confirming the previous disposition of the Patriotic Fund, and authorising its extension so as to confer similar benefits upon the children of any soldiers or seamen, &c., who had died, or may hereafter die, while in the service of the crown. Also providing for the appointment of official trustees in whom the property of the fund might be vested; and for a regular audit of the accounts of moneys expended. Whereupon a supplementary commission was appointed on March 26, 1868, which reports annually in connection with the original commissioners. In 1880, in consequence of financial difficulties, it was proposed to modify the scope of this commission, and to reorganise it.1 ceedings. Within the limits of their prescribed functions, and Internal subject to the provisions of any Act of Parliament de- profining the same, commissions have the absolute power of regulating the proceedings of their own tribunal, and of admitting or excluding what persons they please' from attendance during their sittings. But, as will be presently shown, they are liable under certain circumstances to have their proceedings questioned in either House of Parliament. For a copy of the commission, and of the First and Second Reports of the Comm's. see Com. Pap. 1857-8, v. 19, p. 557. See also Clode, Mil. Forces, v. 2, p. 544. i Hans. D. v. 183, p. 1684. m Pap. 1877, v. 18; as to audit of 1 Com. Pap. 1881, v. 20 & 58. Expenses of commissions. All the expenses attending temporary royal commissions are defrayed out of moneys annually voted by Parliament for such purposes." But it is not usual for commissioners to incur any extraordinary expenditure without the previous sanction of the Home Office, by which the application would naturally be referred to the Treasury. The expenses attending certain permanent public commissions form a very considerable item in the Civil Service estimates. It has been a growing opinion for several years that these ought not to be a public charge, but that the offices in question, so long as it may be necessary that they should continue in operation, should be self-supporting. On July 6, 1863, it was moved in the House of Commons to resolve that, in the opinion of this House, the royal commission of the Great Exhibition of 1851 should be determined, and the property now held by the commission be vested in the crown. But the motion was opposed by ministers on the ground that the commission held their funds for the purposes of promoting science and art; and that no case had been made out to justify so violent and unheard of a method of putting an end to its existence. The motion was then negatived, on division. On April 24, 1868, on motion of an independent member, it was resolved, by the House of Commons, that the expenses of the Copyhold, Inclosure, and Tithe Commission, Inclosure and Drainage Acts, and Charity Commission, ought not to be borne by the public; inasmuch as these commissions were pecuniarily beneficial to the classes of property with which they dealt, and saved them considerable expense. The resolution was only carried by a majority of one, ministers voting against it, although the government would have readily assented to it, if the word 'entirely' had been added before the word 'borne.' r On April 5, 1869, the chancellor of the exchequer informed the House to what extent the government had been able to give effect to this resolution. But the government plan having proved abortive, another resolution was proposed by a private member, and accepted by the ministry on April 21, 1871,-in favour n See Civ. Serv. Est. 1887-8, p. 99. Com Pap. 1877, v. 57. 485. Com. Pap. 1877, v. 57. 94 Hans. D. v. 172, pp. 254–269. 1b. v. 191, pp. 1280-1295. S of discontinuing the exemption of endowed charities from income tax, as the most suitable method of carrying out the aforesaid decision. But this method also proved objectionable and was not carried out, and ministers have been unable to devise any method of making charities pay for their own administration.t As a check upon the proceedings of commissions, Secretary. in pecuniary matters, it is required that the secretary, even of a statutory commission, should be appointed either by or with the direct approval of the executive government. He is often nominated in the commission itself. Unless special qualifications occasion another choice, it is not uncommon to select the secretary of a commission from amongst the subordinate officers of the Treasury." A royal commission continues in existence until it has completed its labours, unless its duration be expressly limited by the terms of the Letters Patent or Act of Parliament, under which it was appointed; or unless it be sooner revoked and discharged by the crown or by Act of Parliament." x W The Criminal Law Commission, appointed in 1833, was revoked on February 22, 1845. The West Indian Encumbered Estates Commission was appointed under the authority of the Act 17 & 18 Vict. c. 117, which limited its duration to six years. By subsequent statutes, it has been prolonged until Parliament shall otherwise determine.' The Oaths Commission, appointed on May 17, 1866, was revoked, and a new one issued on July 16, 1866, on account of two of its members having accepted office. The Commission on Popular Education in England was required by its letters patent of June 30, 1858, to complete its enquiry within the space of two years.' But on June 8, 1859, it was extended for another year. • Hans. D. v. 195, pp. 141, 526; v. 197, p. 1683; v. 205, p. 1505; v. 206, pp. 1397, 1412. Ib. v. 211, 1529; v. 218, p. 770; v. 227, p. 506. However the fees paid to the comm. amount to about two-thirds of the annual grant. Civ. Ser. Est. 1877-8, p. 98. Com. Pap. 1877, v. 57. Commissions. Report. Com missions to Parlia ment. To revoke a crown commission it is necessary that a warrant should be issued under the royal sign manual. When the whole, or any particular portion of the enquiry, has been brought to a close, the commissioners present their report to the crown through the secretary of state for the home department. The report should be signed by all the commissioners. But if any of them are unable to agree with the majority in the terms of the report, they are at liberty to record their dissent, and to state their individual opinions, either in paragraphs appended to the report, or in memorandums following, signed by themselves." International conferences and mixed commissions report their proceedings to their respective governments. The report is usually transmitted to Parliament by command, or communicated upon an address. But a motion in the House of Commons, on May 17, 1836, for an address to the crown to direct a certain commission to report in relation forthwith upon a particular portion of the enquiry entrusted to it, was declared by ministers to be a very unusual course, and an attempt to take out of the hands of the crown the direction of a commission appointed by it.' After a short debate, the motion was withdrawn. On June 16, 1869, a similar motion was made, but withdrawn in 'consequence of satisfactory explanations as to the cause of delay, from a member who was one of the commission.'e It is usual, in the case of permanent or durable commissions, for direction to be given to the commissioners to make reports at stated intervals. But, by an omission in the Irish Church Act, no such direction was given to the Church Temporalities Commission. Accordingly, after five years' service, they applied to the lords of the treasury and to the Irish government for authority to make a report. They did so specially in order that they might be in a position to explain and justify their conduct in reply to comments thereon by the comptroller and auditor-general in his reports upon the Irish Church accounts. The commissioners were accordingly a Hans. D. v. 194, p. 1544. b See Second Rep. Judicature с Com. Pap. 1868–9, v. 56, pp. 499– 574, 682-685. For particulars con cerning constitution and practice of mixed commissions, see Com. Pap. 1874, v. 75, p. 799; Am. Law Rev. v. 6, pp. 394-411. d Mir. of Parl. 1836, p. 1521. Hans. D. v. 196, p. 1910. empowered to report, and their report was presented to Parliament, and referred to the Committee on Public Accounts. The committee recommended that the commissioners should in future be required to make periodical reports, that shall be presented to Parliament.f For royal commissioners are not directly amenable to Parliament, but only to the crown.R And Parliament ought not to interfere with their proceedings, unless it could be shown that they were acting unfairly, or were incompetent, or were otherwise unworthy of the confidence of the government, or of Parliament, when either House might address the crown for their removal from office.h In reply to a question put in the House of Lords, the chairman of a royal commission refused to make known their intended recommendations upon a branch of their enquiry, until the same should have been reported to the Queen.' On May 10, 1869, enquiry was made in the House of Commons regarding certain alleged defalcations by an officer belonging to the Patriotic Fund Commission, which were satisfactorily answered by the secretary for war On March 24, 1868, Mr. Disraeli declined to lay before the House reports of the assistant boundary commissioners, on the ground that they were essentially confidential documents, supplied for the information of the boundary commissioners, who form their opinion upon them, and who are responsible for the opinion they give to this House.'k Accordingly, a reference to these reports by one who had perused them was declared to be out of order. But afterwards ministers consented to produce them.m Case of On August 5, 1872, on the Report of Supply, a reduction of the vote for national education in Ireland was moved, in order to call attention to the action taken by the education commissioners in O'Keefe. the dismissal of Rev. Mr. O'Keefe from being manager of the parish schools of Callan, for an offence given to his ecclesiastical superiors, and to censure that action. The prime minister and the secretary |