CHAPTER XIII THE REGULATIONS, PROCEDURE, AND PERSONNEL OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS : REFERENCES: Palgrave's House of Commons; Ewald's Crown and its Advisers, Lecture on the Commons; Courtney's Working Constitution of the United Kingdom, 156–162; Tyler's Glimpses of England, 92–121; Dod's Parliamentary Companion, and English political and statistical almanacs. S the House of Commons, unlike the House of Lords, is homogeneous in composition, it is not necessary to consider rank or order in assigning places or seats. In fact, no such assign- Places and ments are made. The simple rule is that Seats. those members supporting the Government of the day occupy the benches at the Speaker's right, while the Opposition members sit at his left. As a matter of custom the ministers sit on the Treasury Bench -the front seat at the Speaker's right— and the leaders of the Opposition are similarly placed at the left. The rank and file of the parties occupy the benches behind their leaders. The members from the city of London have generally claimed and exercised the right of sitting on the Treasury Bench at the opening of a new Parliament. Some of the older members have retained the same seats so long that they have obtained a sort of right by possession which others respect. There are always some independent members who do not wish to ally themselves unreservedly with either party. These members sit "below the gangway," a narrow aisle cutting the long benches into two parts at right angles to the broad aisle in the centre of the chamber. John Bright and John Stuart Mill sat for years on the Liberal side of the chamber below the gangway. They were in accord with the principles of the Liberal party on most matters, but wished to reserve for themselves the right to act independently when they saw fit to do so. The remaining members sit wherever it seems most convenient. As there are not seats enough for all, it is sometimes desirable to make reservations. In order to do this, members must be present at prayers and place cards with the words "at prayers" printed on them in receptacles placed on the backs of the seats for that purpose. Attempts to reserve seats before prayers have been defeated by order of the Speaker. Sometimes members retain seats by placing papers, gloves, or other articles upon them, but do so as a matter of courtesy, not of right. The above provisions are important when a significant debate is in progress, and the attendance exceeds the accommodations. Time of It was formerly customary for the House of Commons to meet at eight o'clock in the morning, and frequently as early as six or seven. It Meeting. then adjourned at eleven, leaving the afternoon for committee work. The hour of meeting gradually became later until it was placed at fifteen minutes before four in the afternoon. This was the time of meeting for about twenty-five years prior to 1888. At that time it was ordered that on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, the House should assemble at three o'clock in the afternoon, and on Wednesdays at twelve o'clock, noon. This schedule. is now in force. The House does not usually sit on Saturday or Sunday. On the former day the Houses of Parliament are open for the inspection of the public. The arrangement of hours above mentioned leaves. the members free for committee work during the forenoon. The House does sometimes hold " morning sittings," but these do not interfere with the business of the committees as they begin at two o'clock in the afternoon. They are usually held on Tuesdays and Fridays. It does sometimes happen. that the House will sit in protracted session through the entire night and during the next day as well, and thus conflict with the sittings of the committees. In 1877 the House sat in continuous session for twentysix and one-half hours. This was the longest sitting on record up to that date. In 1881, however, the House met at a quarter before four on Monday and continued to sit until half-past nine on Wednesday morning, making a sitting forty-one and threefourths hours in duration. This is probably the longest sitting on record. On numerous occasions the House has continued in session all night and a good part of the succeeding forenoon. In 1783, when discussing the question of peace with the United States, the sitting lasted until nearly eight o'clock in the morning, and the discussion on the Reform Bill protracted one sitting until seven o'clock of the following morning. These long sittings sometimes 1 Changed recently. See note at close of chapter. |