Bill passed. Title of bill amended. has been customary to consider the bill as amended, and Chapter to read it a third time, immediately.1 A bill has been read a third time, and further proceedings upon the question, "That this bill do pass," have been adjourned to a future day. Such a course is impossible in the House of Commons, as, according to established practice, that question, being practically obsolete, is invariably omitted, though the form is preserved upon the journal; and thus, according to established usage, a bill, when read the third time, has passed, and consequently the question thereon is not put from the chair. An entry is occasionally made in the journal, at the discretion of the house, that a bill was read the third time and passed, nemine contradicente.5 In the Lords, the original title of a bill is amended at any stage at which amendments are admissible, when alterations in the body of the bill have rendered any change in the title necessary. In the Commons, in addition to the opportunities offered by the committee (see p. 491) and report (see p. 497) stages, amendments may be offered to the title on the third reading stage of a bill. When amendments to a bill are material, the short title by which the bill is distinguished in the votes is also altered. It may 1 New Zealand Government Act Amendment Bill, 7th Aug. 1857, 112 C. J. 384; Stamp Duties Bill, 31st March, 1860, 115 ib. 174; 144 ib. 309. 381; 160 ib. 401. 2 After the third reading of the Queen's Degradation Bill in the House of Lords, 10th Nov. 1820, the further consideration of the bill was put off for six months, 53 L. J. 762. 3 Under the former procedure, the question, "That this bill do pass," has been negatived, and debate and divisions have taken place thereon, 76 C. J. 413; 80 ib. 617; 89 ib. 497; Tests Abolition (Oxford) Bill, 1864, 119 ib. 388; Reform Bill, 1831, 86 ib. 860; Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 1851, 106 ib. 335; Succession Duty Bill, 1853, 108 ib. 692; Edu- * 258 H. D. 3 s. 1832; 289 ib. Mr. Speaker's Retirement Bill, 1857, was passed nem. con., whereon the Speaker addressed his acknowledgments to the house, 112 C. J. 110. See debate and motion regarding this entry on the occasion of the Representation of the People Bill, 26th and 27th June, 1884, 139 C. J. 321. 324; 289 H. D. 3 s. 1561. 104 C. J. 581; 105 ib. 338; 117 ib. 378. 7109 ib. 316; 111 ib. 309; 112 ib. 384; 116 ib. 373. 392; 135 ib. 48. 323. XIX. laws. be as well to recall to mind, in this place, that standing Temporary order No. 45 of the Commons directs that the precise dura- S. O. 45, tion of every temporary law shall be expressed in a distinct Appendix I. clause at the end of the bill. By Act 48 Geo. III. c. 106, if a bill be in Parliament for the continuance of any temporary Act, and such Act expires before the royal assent is given to the bill, the Act to be continued does not lapse in the interval. not to be otherwise than by Throughout all these stages and proceedings, the bill The bill itself continues in the custody of the Clerk or other officers altered of the house, and no alteration whatever is permitted to be made in it, without the express authority of the house or amenda committee, in the form of an amendment regularly put from the chair, and recorded by the clerks at the table or by the chairman in committee.1 ment. cated from Commons. The next step is to communicate the bill to the other Communihouse. It has been already stated (p. 436) that the Lords Lords to ordinarily send their bills to the Commons by the Clerk of the Parliaments, or a clerk at the table. When the bill has originated in the Lords, "a message is ordered to be sent to the House of Commons to carry down the said bill, and desire their concurrence." If the bill has been sent up from the Commons, and has been agreed to without amendment, the Lords send a message "to acquaint them that the Lords have agreed to the said bill without any amendment," but do not return the bill: but if they have made amendments, they return the bill with a message, "that the Lords have agreed to the same with some amendments, to which their lordships desire their concurrence." Commons The Commons send up their bills to the Lords by their From Clerk, or by one of the clerks at the table, who delivers it to Lords. at the bar, to one of the clerks at the table of that house. The form of message adopted by the Commons in sending bills to the upper house is similar, mutatis mutandis, to that used by the House of Lords. The Lords, by standing order 1 See debate, 3rd June, 1782, as to alterations alleged to have been made without authority by Mr. Burke, paymaster of the forces, in the ingrossment of a bill for regulat- Bills sent by mistake. XIX. No. 38, direct "that when a bill brought from the House Chapter Every bill received from the Lords, except appropriation 1 118 L. J. 261. 2 1 C. J. 132; 75 ib. 447; 78 ib. 317; 80 ib. 512; 91 ib. 639. 646; 92 ib. 572. 609; Lunatic Asylums Bill, 100 ib. 804; Poor Employment (Ireland) Bill, 101 ib. 1277; Cruelty to Animals Bill, 103 ib. 736; Burial Chapter Speaker, the Commons declined to take the amendment into consideration, and the Lords did not insist upon it.1 XIX. Motions made without notice, Procedure of the day, tion of ments. By standing order, No. 48, Lords' amendments to public Considerabills are appointed to be considered on a future day, unless, Lords' see p. 245. according to ordinary usage, the house shall order that the amendamendments be considered forthwith; 2 though if objection s. o. 43, on orders be taken, the consideration of the amendments may be de- Appendix 1. see p. 260. ferred. Occasionally, also, if the proceeding be required by the state of public business, the reading of the orders of the day has been interrupted by the communication of a Lords' message to the house (see p. 269), and the amendments to the bill thereby transmitted to the Commons have been considered forthwith. Amendments more than verbal are, if it be desirable, ordered to be printed and circulated with the notice paper; and an order has been made that the bill, as amended by the Lords, be printed. When the order of the day is read for considering Lords' amendments to a bill, a question is put, "That the Lords' amendments be now taken into consideration; " but it is not permissible to discuss thereon the provisions of the bill. An amendment may be moved, to leave out "now," and add "this day three months," or to leave out "now taken into consideration," and add "laid aside:"6 but generally the house proceeds to the consideration of the amendments, which, after being read a second time, are severally agreed to, or otherwise disposed of. The order for the consideration of Lords' amendments has also been read and postponed. And during the consideration of such amendments certain amendments have been read and postponed, and subsequent amendments taken into consideration. Where the Lords have added a clause, leaving a blank for a penalty, the house has gone into committee on the clause, and 99 C. J. 637. 638. 644; 76 H. D. 3 s. 1994. 2 110 C. J. 458. 464, &c.; 135 H. 38th June, 1891, 146 C. J. 340. $ 28 Parl. Deb. 4 s. 1489; 87 ib. 113 C. J. 349; 97 ib. 278; 99 ib. 572; 108 ib. 393. 90 ib. 624; Irish Land Law Bill, 12th Aug. 1887, 319 H. D. 3 s. 263-304; 142 C. J. 456; see also Tithe, &c., Bill, 19th March, 1891, 351 H. D. 3 s. 1470. Amend ments agreed 2 XIX. on amend p. 293. filled up the blank. When the question for agreeing to Chapter to amend If one house agree to a bill passed by the other, without any amendment, no further discussion or question can arise upon it; but the bill is ready to be put into the commission, for receiving the royal assent. If a bill be returned from one house to another with amendments, these amendments Agreement must either be agreed to by the house which had first passed the bill, or the other house must waive their amendments: sisted upon by the other otherwise the bill will be lost. Sometimes one house agrees house, see Appendix to the amendments, with amendments, to which the other vi house agrees. Occasionally, this interchange of amendments is carried even further, and one house agrees to amendments with amendments, to which the other house agrees with amendments; to which, also, the first house in Consequen- its turn agrees. In some cases the Lords have left out tial amend- clauses or words, to which amendments the Commons have ments. 5 disagreed but on restoring such clauses or words have, at 1 123 C. J. 345; 125 ib. 398; 126 ib. 420. 2 12th Aug. 1876, 231 H. D. 3 s. 1176. 3 197 ib. 1949. 241 ib. 846. 1059. 590 C. J. 624. 626. 629. The title of a bill has been amended, to make it conform to the Lords' amendments, 109 ib. 486. 111 ib. 373; 112 ib. 416; 118 ib. 381. 412; 125 ib. 384; 127 ib. 158. 413; 128 ib. 128. 357; 138 ib. 478. 486. For examples of an inter change of amendments between the 'Municipal Corporations (Ire- 8 Irish Church Bill, 1869, 124 ib. 332; Local Government (England and Wales) Bill, 1893-4, 148 ib. 672. |