The expenditure of the Order was, on the whole, within the limits of its revenue.  The chief charge upon the expenditure was the fighting forces—­the fleet and the garrisons—­which together absorbed about half the revenue.  Of the other items, the most important were the Hospital, the Churches of the Order, and the support of its officers both at the Convent and in the various European countries.  The Knights were never seriously threatened financially till the French Revolution wiped out half their revenues at one fell swoop.  Emergencies were always successfully met by an appeal to the self-denial of the members of the Order and the generosity of Europe.

The control of the revenues was in the hands of the Chambre de Commun Tresor, which consisted of eight officials, the most important of whom were the President, who was always the Grand Commander (the conventual bailiff of Provence, the senior langue of the Order), and the Secretary through whose hands all the revenues passed.  In each langue certain specified towns were used as receiving Treasuries, under the control of receivers who paid the money direct to the Central Treasury; these towns numbered twenty-nine in all.  These receivers obtained the revenues from each estate or commandery within their district.  At first the Order had possessed one common chest, but with the growth of its possessions each Grand Prior was put in control of his Priory’s revenues; this proving unsatisfactory, from the difficulty of exercising control over these powerful Knights, the finances of each estate were administered by the commanders themselves, who dealt directly with the receivers in their area.  They paid their quota or “responsions” biennially, and were subject to inspection from their Grand Priors; commanderies were rewards to aged Knights, and good administration brought promotion to richer estates.

The Criminal Council, which consisted of the Grand Master, the Bishop of Malta, the Prior of St. John, the conventual bailiffs, and any Grand Crosses present at the Convent, dealt with offences against the estates of the Order.  The accused were brought in, the evidence taken, and the verdict declared.  All evidence was verbal and no written testimony was accepted; each Knight, unless he could show good reason to the contrary, had to plead in person.  Any English or German Knights, who knew only their own tongue and so had difficulty in being understood, were allowed advocates.  The Order, by its Statutes, discouraged litigation to the utmost, desiring to promote concord and harmony among its members, and for that reason all legal procedure was made as simple and as summary as possible.