prevent sufficient funds remaining in hand to meet the balance of expenditure still to he incurred under the estimated Budget of the current year.
The Budget.Art. X. The Controllers-General will take part in the preparation of the the Budget. They are not to encroach upon the functions of the Ministers, who will remain sole judges of the necessity of assigning credits to services of such and such a nature. Accordingly, the Budget will be prepared by the Minister of Finance, who will centralize all the demands for credits made by the Heads of Departments.
The Budget having been thus prepared, will be submitted to the Council of Ministers, to which the two Controllers-General will he summoned.
When the Budget has been examined and revised, if necessary, it will be submitted by the Council to our approbation.
The Minister of Finance and the Controllers-General will see to the strict execution of the Budget.
Art. XI. The Finance Committee will have to give their approval, in the first instance ('préalablement') to all contracts entailing pecuniary engagements, which would exceed fth of the credits open for the year, or which would be applicable to several years.
Art. XII. It will be the duty of the Finance Committee to draw up the general regulations in the matter of public accounts ('en matière de comptabilite publique') under our sanction.
The Controllers.Art. XIII. Of the two Controllers-General, one will he an Englishman and the other a Frenchman.
Art. XIV. The nomination and the choice of the Controllers-General will belong to us ; hut in order to satisfy ourselves with regard to the guarantees offered by the persons whom we may choose, we shall address ourselves unofficially ('officieusement') to the English and French Governments, and we shall only engage persons who are furnished with the authority, or with the acquiescence of their Governments.
If one or the other of these Governments, at the time when the nominations have to he made, should not give its authority or its acquiescence, our choice will he made amongst the higher officials of the two countries, either in active service or retired.
