Bills com of the house could be obtained upon a second reading. The chapter bill was thereupon withdrawn.1 When the lord, or member, having charge of a bill desires mitted pro to introduce numerous amendments in order to improve formú. the measure, and render it more generally acceptable to the house, he may move that the bill be committed pro formá-a course which is rarely objected to.2 In such cases the proposed amendments are not separately considered; nor is any question put upon the several clauses of the bill. The proceeding is entirely formal; the chairman reports the bill, with the amendments, to the house; and it is reprinted in its amended form, and recommitted for a future day. Lords' bills are so treated in the House of Commons, like other bills. It is not, however, regular to commence the consideration of a bill in the usual way, and to deal with the remaining clauses pro formâ: but it has been arranged that all subsequent amendments, though put from the chair, shall be accepted without discussion.* The limit beyond which these amendments should not exceed has been explained on p. 491. When a bill, having been committed pro formâ, is recommitted, it is considered as if the bill had been committed for the first time. Proceedings of The house is not supposed to be informed of any of the committee proceedings of the committee until the bill has been renot known ported; and discussion of the clauses, with the Speaker in the chair, is consequently irregular. until reported. Report of progress. If the committee cannot go through the whole bill at one sitting in the Lords, the chairman puts a question that the house be resumed, which being agreed to, he leaves the 1 16th Aug. 1889, 339 H. D.3 s. 1487. In 1876, on the Toll Bridges, &c., Bill, the Speaker ruled that the amendments made by a select committee to a private bill should not be so extensive as to create a bill other than the bill read a second time by the house, 230 ib. 1679; and see infra p. 830 n. 3. "No committee can destroy a bill, but they can lay it down," More's Notes of Debates in the Long Parliament, 14th April, 1641; Harl. MSS.; Mr. Speaker's ruling, 176 H. D. 3 s. 99. 2 For cases in which the Speaker 3 155 C. J. 204. Literary and Scientific Societies Bill, 4th June, 1856, 142 H. D. 3 s. 939. XIX. XIX. Chapter chair, and moves that the house be put into committee on a future day; and in the Commons, the committee direct the chairman to report progress, and ask leave to sit again.1 On the chairman's report, the house has occasionally thereupon resolved itself again into the committee.2 See also committee, P. 390. mittee The proceedings of a committee on a bill may be brought When comabruptly to a close, by an order, "That the chairman do make no now leave the chair; "3 or by a proof that a quorum is not report. present (see p. 231); in which case the chairman, being without instructions from the committee, makes no report to the house. A bill disposed of in this manner disappears from the order book; though it can be revived by an order of the house (see p. 264). When a committee on a bill is revived, its proceedings are resumed at the point at which they were interrupted, having been valid, and duly recorded in the minutes, until the chairman was directed to leave the chair.1 the bill. When the bill has been fully considered, the chairman Report of puts a question, "That I do report this bill without amendment," or "with the amendments, to the house; " which being agreed to, the chairman leaves the chair, under stand- S. O. 52, Appendix I. ing order No. 52, without question put, and Mr. Speaker resumes the chair; upon which the chairman approaches the steps of the Speaker's chair, and reports from the committee that "they had gone through the bill, and had made amendments," or "several amendments thereunto." If no amendments have been made, he reports, "that they had gone through the bill, and directed him to report the same, without amendment." ings on In the Lords, the bill is at once reported if there be no Proceedamendments: but, unless the standing orders be suspended report. (see p. 517), the bill cannot be further proceeded with. Lords. Standing order No. 39 also directs that when amendments See report, "no progress," when several bills have been referred to a committee, 124 C. J. 268, &c. 2 111 ib. 316; see also p. 214, n. 2, and p. 611. 90 ib. 497. 562; 105 ib. 345; 111 ib. 201; 112 ib. 310; 126 ib. 339, Savings Banks and Friendly Proceedings on report. XIX. are made to a bill, no report can be received from a com- Chapter In the Commons, pursuant to standing order No. 39, the chairman, at the close of the proceedings of the committee, Commons. reports the bill forthwith to the house, and any amendAppendix 1. ments thereto are received without debate, and a time is appointed for taking the same into consideration. S. O. 39, Bills re printed. I. Considera- On the report of a bill, if no amendments have been made, the bill is immediately ordered to be read a third time (see p. 501), or a future day is appointed for the third reading. If amendments have been made by the committee, the bill as amended is usually ordered to be taken into consideration on a future day; though, if the occasion should arise, the bill as amended may, upon the report thereof, be immediately considered by the house. If the title has been amended, such amendment is specially reported.3 Bills materially amended in committee are, if it be requisite, reprinted before consideration as amended, by order made when the bill is reported to the house; though occasionally, while a bill has been in progress, the amended clauses, so far as they have been agreed to, have been printed, by direction of the Speaker, and circulated with the votes.4 By standing order No. 40, when the order of the day for the consideration of a bill, as amended in the committee of 1 91 L. J. 33. 2 100 ib. 103. 115 C. J. 343; 120 ib. 95, &c. Bill, 1867; Irish Church Bill, 1869; Chapter the whole house, has been read, the house proceeds to con XIX. sider the same without question put, unless the member in S. o. 40, Accordingly, if these motions are not made, or if no tion of bill Debate on When the bill, as amended by the committee, is con- Considerapreamble, see p. 496, sidered, the entire bill is open to consideration, and new on report. clauses may be added, and amendments made. According ments, see to former usage, the amendments might be wholly irrelevant n. 6. Amend p. 478. p. 490. on amend to the subject-matter of the bill.2 This vicious practice Restriction was, in 1888, rendered impossible by standing order No. 41, ments on which prescribes that no amendment may be proposed to a report. bill on consideration, which could not have been proposed Appendix I. in committee without an instruction from the house. S. O. 41, clauses on Appendix I. By standing order No. 38, no clause may be offered on the New report stage of a bill, unless notice thereof has been given; 3 report. New clauses and it has been held that such notice must comprise the S. 0. 38, out of order, see words of the clause intended to be proposed; and where a clause has been offered, differing materially from the notice, it has not been entertained. Nor can this defect of notice be supplied by an amendment being proposed to the clause by another member; as the clause cannot be amended until New clauses it has been received and read a second time.5 A member moved by another has not been permitted to move a clause, of which another member of member had given notice, and a member who is not in his the govern ment, see p. 263. Amendments to port. XIX. amend place when called upon by the Speaker to move a new Chapter When the new clauses upon the notice paper have been bill on re- disposed of, the Speaker calls on the members who have given notice of amendments to the bill, and on the members who rise in like manner, not having placed their amendments upon the notice paper. Amendments are offered as in committee in the order in which, if agreed to, they will stand in the amended bill; but if a proposed amendment be withdrawn, a prior amendment may be moved.5 Where an amendment is proposed by leaving out the preamble or a clause of the bill, a question is put, that "the preamble " 6 |