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Chapter
XIX.

an Act still in force would be included among the provisions of a statute law revision bill, which dealt solely with statutes no longer in force.1 It has been held, however, that a committee on a bill to effect the consolidation of the law on the subject to which the bill relates may, without an instruction, amend the provisions of the statutes. which by the bill are to be consolidated and fused together.2

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No amendment can properly be proposed to a clause which is irrelevant to the subject-matter of such clause: such an amendment should be moved as a new clause. Neither may an amendment be proposed to insert words at the commencement of a clause with a view to proposing an alternative scheme to that contained in the clause, or to leave out from the first word to the end of the clause, in order to substitute other words,5-such amendments being in the nature of a new clause. In such a case the regular course is to negative the question, that the clause stand part of the bill, and to bring up a new clause, at the proper time. But when an amendment has already been. made at the beginning of a clause, and it is afterwards proposed to leave out the remainder of the clause, such an amendment has been held to be regular. When a clause has been amended, the question put from the chair is, "That this clause, as amended, stand part of the bill;" and no other amendment can be proposed to a clause, after this question has been proposed from the chair.? Debate upon this question must be confined to the clause, as amended, and must not extend to a discussion of the circumstances under which particular amendments were made or to a review in detail of the proceedings on the

1 346 H. D. 3 s. 1618.

2 Procedure in a standing committee on the County Courts Consolidation Bill, 1888, and in a select committee on the Military Lands Consolidation Bill, 1892.

3 Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill, 6th Aug. 1857, 147 H. D. 3 s. 1190. 1198; Prisons Bill, 1st and 22nd March, 1878, 232 ib. 1242; 233

ib. 359; Army Discipline Bill, 19th June, 1879, 247 ib. 278.

• 261 ib. 1522; 41 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 873-5; 74 ib. 325.

116 H. D. 3 s. 666; 196 ib. 74; 200 ib. 1057, &c.

• Irish Land Bill, 1st April, 1870, 200 ib. 1057.

147 ib. 1191.

Clauses

XIX.

clause. It has been ruled that when the question, "That Chapter
this clause stand part of the bill," has been put from the
chair, it cannot be withdrawn, as it necessarily follows upon
the consideration of the clause, and is not a motion made
by any member which he could ask leave to withdraw.2

No amendment should be admitted which is in the nature

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postponed. of a previous question. Clauses may be postponed, unless they have been already partly considered and amended, in which case it is not regular to postpone them; though if a proposed amendment be withdrawn, the clause may be postponed. A proposal to postpone the only effective clause of a bill until the subordinate clauses have been considered has been ruled to be out of order. Upon a question for the postponement of a clause, the debate is limited to the simple question of postponement, and may not be extended to the merits of the bill or the clause.7 Postponed clauses are considered after the other clauses of the bill have been disposed of, and before any new clauses are brought up. But they have also been considered, Procedure under special circumstances, after new clauses,8 or certain clauses, see other clauses, or some of the schedules of the bill.10 When P. 489; instructions have been given by the house for the purpose, tions, see the committee may receive clauses or make provision in the bills committed to them, which they could not otherwise have considered, or they may consolidate or divide the bills referred to them.11

1 12 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 1180; 20 ib. 503. 696.

2 Hypothec Abolition (Scotland)
Bill, 1st April, 1879, private ruling.
3207 H. D. 3 s. 722, Elections
(Parliamentary) Bill, 25th July,
1871. 111 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 792. A
motion to postpone part of a clause
is not in order, 97 ib. 453; 139 ib.
1220.

Supreme Court of Judicature
Bill, 8th July, 1873, 128 C. J. 340.
5 74 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 325; 139 ib.
1221.

6207 H. D. 3 s. 1378; 318 ib. 145;
41 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 870.

12 ib. 350; 111 ib. 48; 136 ib.

504.

122 C. J. 141. 149; 132 ib. 235; 142 ib. 206. 210; 186 H. D. 3 s. 768. 912; 148 C. J. 455.

9 136 ib. 267.

10 Supreme Court of Judicature Bill, 1875, 130 ib. 425. A clause has been postponed until after the schedule and any new schedule, while the schedule when reached was postponed until after the postponed clause, Churches (Scotland) Bill, 1905, 160 ib. 334. 335.

11 The effect to which the rejection of an instruction affects the power of a committee in considering amendments which trench upon the purport

on new

on instruc

p. 478.

Chapter
XIX.

blanks.

By standing order No. 37, no question is put for the Proceedfilling up of words printed in italics; and if no alteration ings upon Provisions has been made in such words, the bill is reported without s. 0. 37, charges, see amendment. p. 560.

creating

When a real blank has been left, if it be desired to fill it up with words different from those first proposed, a distinct motion is made upon each proposal, instead of moving an amendment upon that first suggested. The chairman puts the question upon each motion separately, and in the order in which they were made.1 It was formerly an occasional, but not the constant, practice to put first the motion for a Ways and smaller sum or longer time: 2 but according to later praccedure, see tice, this rule has not been observed in committees upon

means pro

p. 625.

bills. Thus, on the 18th July, 1856, in committee on the
Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education
Bill, it was proposed to fill up the blank, for the salary of
the office, with 2000l.: it was afterwards proposed to fill
it up with 12007.; and the question was put and decided
upon the sum first proposed. Where the proposed sum
has already been printed in italics, and another sum is
proposed, the latter is put in the form of an amendment,
without reference to the relative amount of the two pro-
posals; and this practice is now uniformly observed.

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Appendix I.

tion or

bills.

When, pursuant to an instruction (see p. 480), two bills Consolida are to be consolidated, the preambles of the two bills are division of severally postponed, and the clauses of each are successively proceeded with. When a bill is to be divided into one or more bills, it is usual to postpone those clauses which are to form a separate bill, and, when they are afterwards considered, to annex to them a preamble, enacting words and title. The separate bills are then separately reported.

clauses.

In the Lords, new clauses are brought up and inserted New in their proper places, while the committee are going through

of the rejected instruction, will be
found in the decision by the chair-
man, Tithe Rent-Charge Recovery
Bill, 1889, 339 H. D. 3 s. 1185.
1228.

1 93 C. J. 204. 526; 94 ib. 465. 497.

2 88 ib. 617.

3 111 ib. 363.

110 ib. 223; 111 ib. 353.

S. O. 38,
Appendix I.

XIX.

the bill:1 but in the Commons, all the clauses of the bill Chapter
are considered before any new clauses are brought up and
added to the bill; though new clauses have been considered
before postponed clauses (see p. 488).

The new clauses proposed by the minister, or other
member in charge of the bill, are proposed before other
new clauses.2

If a new clause be offered, the chairman desires the member to bring it up, and it is read a first time, under standing order No. 38, without question put. A question is then put for reading the clause a second time, and, if agreed to, the clause may be amended before the question is put for adding it to the bill. The committee may divide one clause into two, or decide that the first part of a clause, or the first part of a clause with a schedule, shall be considered as an entire clause. A new clause, however, will not be entertained clauses out if inconsistent with clauses agreed to by the committee, if substantially the same as a clause previously negatived, if properly an amendment," or needing an instruction."

New

of order.

Schedules

schedules.

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Schedules to a bill are considered, as a rule, after new and new clauses are disposed of, and they are treated in the same manner as clauses. When the schedules have been considered, new schedules are offered. If a schedule be disagreed to, another cannot be offered to supply its place, until the remaining schedules have been disposed of. A new schedule is brought up, read a first time and second time, amended, if need be, and added to the bill.9

Close of procedure

When all the clauses and schedules have been agreed on a bill, to, and any new clauses or schedules added, the preamble, which had been postponed, is considered, and, if necessary, Procedure

188 L. J. 234; 99 ib. 499. 500.
2208 H. D. 3 s. 802.

3 86 C. J. 728; 87 ib. 80; 89 ib.
409; 132 ib. 235.

• Municipal Elections Bill, 1859, 114 ib. 103.

5 179 H. D. 3 s. 538.

615 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 1433; 41 ib.
1703; 74 ib. 858; 125 ib. 587. 588.
: 16 ib. 257.

on enacting words, see

Schedules have been considered P. 485. before new clauses. Poor Law Amendment Bill, 18th July, 1844, Turnpike Trusts (South Wales) Bill, 24th July, 1844, 99 C. J. 517. 536.

Metropolitan Buildings Bill, 99 ib. 512; Representation of the People Bill, 1867, 122 ib. 365; 188 H. D. 3 s. 1280.

XIX.

Chapter is amended so as to conform to amendments made in the bill;1 and the chairman puts the question, "That this be the preamble of the bill," which he reads (short) to the committee. Lastly, in the Lords, the title of the bill is amended on considered and agreed to; and in the Commons, when any ing, see p. amendment is to be made to the title, this is the last proceeding of the committee. Sometimes the short title of the bill is also amended in committee.3

Title

third read

502.

Procedure on bills before

committees,

Doubts have arisen whether the committee, to whom a Power of committees bill has been referred, can by amendment so change the pro- over bills. standing visions of the bill, that when it is reported to the house, the see p. 396; bill is in substance a bill other than that which was referred by a select committee, to the committee. A committee can negative every clause see p. 499. of which the bill committed to them is composed, and can substitute for those clauses new clauses, if relevant to the bill as read a second time, and which are otherwise in order. This course has been followed. On the other hand, when, in 1856, the Partnership Amendment Bill having been committed pro formâ, was extensively amended, no amendment being inserted which it was not clearly competent for the committee to entertain, when objection was taken that it had become a new bill, the minister in charge of it, while denying the alleged extent of the amendments, consented to withdraw the bill. And, again, on the same. principle, the Speaker stated, appeal having been made to him regarding extensive alterations made by the committee on the Tithe Rent-Charge Recovery Bill, that, whilst he desired to safeguard the rights and jurisdiction of the chairman of ways and means in giving an opinion on a matter of committee procedure, though he could not, as Speaker, stop the bill on the point of order that the bill was a new bill, he unhesitatingly affirmed that the practice of the house had been, in a case of this kind, to withdraw Alteration a bill which had been so dealt with, and to introduce fore second another bill in the amended form, on which the decision reading, see p. 468.

of bills be

199 C. J. 48. 154; 100 ib. 135; 104 ib. 505.

2 110 ib. 223; 111 ib. 276; 112 ib. 373; 153 ib. 261.

3 135 ib. 360. 398.

Coroners in Boroughs Bill, 17th

May, 1892, 147 ib. 259.

140 H. D. 3 s. 2200.

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