ed with the king's personal expenses. The debts discharged by
parliament between 1782, the date of the passing of the Civil List Act,
and the end of George III.'s reign, amounted to L2,300,000. In all,
during his reign L3,398,061 of debt owing by the civil list was paid
off.
With the regency the civil list was increased by L70,000 per annum, and
a special grant of L100,000 was settled on the prince regent. In 1816
the annual amount was settled at L1,083,727, including the establishment
of the king, now insane; though the civil list was relieved from some
annuities payable to the royal family. Nevertheless, the fund still
continued charged with such civil expenses as the salaries of judges,
ambassadors and officers of state, and with pensions granted for public
services. Other reforms were made as regards the definition of the
several classes of expenditure, while the expenses of the royal
household were henceforth to be audited by a treasury official--the
auditor of the civil list. On the accession of George IV. the civil
list, freed from the expenses of the late king, was settled at L845,727.
On William IV. coming to the throne a sum of L510,000 per annum was
fixed for the service of the civil list. The king at the same time
surrendered all the sources of revenue enjoyed by his predecessors,
apart from the civil list, represented by the hereditary revenues of
Scotland--the Irish civil list, the droits of the crown and admiralty,
the 41/2% duties, the West India duties, and other casual revenues
hitherto vested in the crown, and independent of parliament. The
revenues of the duchy of Lancaster were still retained by the crown. In
return for this surrender and the diminished sum voted, the civil list
was relieved from all the charges relating rather to the civil
government than to the support of the dignity of the crown and the royal
household. The future expenditure was divided into five classes, and a
fixed annual sum was appropriated to each class. The pension list was
reduced to L75,000. The king resisted an attempt on the part of the
select committee to reduce the salaries of the officers of state on the
grounds that this touched his prerogative, and the ministry of Earl Grey
yielded to his remonstrance.
Queen Victoria's civil list.
The civil list of Queen Victoria was settled on the same principles as
that of William IV. A considerable reduction was made in the aggregate
annual sum voted, from L510,000 to
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