Evading Parliamentary Control of Government Spending: Some Early Case Studies

Abstract

Governments of the past showed great ingenuity, and sometimes effrontery, in devising ways to spend their money without the authority of parliament. In doing so, they worked within a legal framework that has changed surprisingly little. What they did forms an important part of the background to the current law of government finance. This article explores early techniques for evading parliamentary control in New South Wales and Victoria, and makes some modern comparisons.