The local authorities have no power to con tract debt without special authority. For most purposes this now means that sanction must be obtained either from Parliament by special act or from the department of the central govern ment, called the Local Government Board. Loans must always be accompanied by pro visions for repayment within the time for which Parliament or the Local Government Board's inspectors calculate the work on which the money is to be spent will last. That the pre scribed sum is being set aside every year for repayment is ascertained by the Local Govern ment Board in each case. Some authorities are forbidden by statute to borrow more than an amount bearing a certain proportion to the an nual ratable value of their area, hut these enactments are rendered practically inoperative by other legislation, and have no influence what ever.
Out of annual revenue the authorities may generally spend as much as they please, the un popularity of rates being regarded as a sufficient safeguard against extravagance. In regard to one expenditure only, that for poor relief, the central government attempts to prevent too much being spent, at any rate in one or two di rections, such as relief to persons not required to enter the workhouse and relief to the able bodied. In other matters the influence of the central government, when exercised, is almost always in favor of increased expenditure. The threat of °withdrawal of the grant)) in respect of a particular school is used every day by in spectors of the central board of education in order to compel a local authority to spend more. The central government appoints officers to audit the accounts of the greater number of local authorities, but the auditors of the munic ipal boroughs (which include all the great cities) in England are elected, under the Munic ipal Corporations Act of 1832, by the rate payers. This election is almost always a farce,
and the more important city councils have had to provide a proper audit in addition to the one thus provided by law.
Bibliography.— Information as to the actual position of British finance can only be obtained by piecing the facts together from a large number of parliamentary publications, usually known as "Blue-books." Among the most im portant of these are the annual returns entitled 'National Debt,' which shows the different kinds of debt existing at the end of each year from 1835 to date; 'Government Departments which gives the amount of the state's securities held by the state itself ; the finance accounts of the United Kingdom; the 'Postmaster-General's Report,' the 'Annual Local Taxation Returns for England and Wales,' and the same for Scotland and for Ireland conveniently summarized in the annual 'Statistical Abstract for the United Besides the above, for historical purposes the following parliamentary papers may be found useful: 'History of the earlier years of the National Debt from 1694 to (C. 9010), and 'Proceedings of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt from 1786 to 1890) (C. 6539) ; local authorities' liabilities (No. 306 of 1903) ; 'Reports of and Evidence taken by the Royal Commission of 1897 on Local Among general works on finance dealing pre-eminently with British con ditions C. F. Bastable's Finance) (3d ed, 1903), is the most complete and gives plenti ful references to earlier works; G. Armitage Smith's 'Principles and Methods of Taxation) (1906) may be useful to anyone requiring less detail. For the history of taxation, consult Stephen Dowell, 'History of Taxation and Taxes in England' (2d ed., 1888) ; Cannan, of Local Rates in England' (2d ed., 1912), and William Kennedy, 'English Taxa tion 1640-1799, an Essay on Policy and Opin ion' (1913).