that although summoned to the national assembly the clergy soon ceased to attend and preferred their own meetings in convocation. Hallam says that "they certainly formed a legislative council in ecclesiastical matters by the advice and consent of which alone, without that of the Commons (I say nothing as to the Lords), Edward III. and Richard II. enacted laws to bind the laity." One such instance is the statute De Haeretico Comburendo, passed in 1401. In 1534 an Act was passed placing on record a previous declaration made by the clergy in convocation that they could not make any new canons, i.e. ecclesiastical ordinances, without the King's previous permission, and that when made, such canons would only bind the laity with the added assent of the King in Parliament. Henceforth any enactments of convocation bind the clergy only, unless they are subsequently embodied in a statute and passed by Parliament. It was in this way that the Book of Common Prayer was settled in its present form in 1662.

Henry VIII. was declared to be "the only Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England." This Act was repealed in the time of Mary and has never been re-enacted, although a statute of Elizabeth accorded to her the title of Supreme Governor. The present position of the Church may be summed up as follows:-It is part of the national constitution: its liturgy and articles of religion, although framed by itself in convocation, have received parliamentary sanction, and cannot be altered without it. Its courts are part of the judicial system, and administer the law of the Church as part of the law of the land, while Parliament has provided punishments for breach of its doctrines and forms of worship in the case of those who have actually become its members and ministers.

§ 51. The Privileges of Parliament.-Constant struggle has marked the acquisition by Parliament of its control

over taxation, legislation, and the executive. In the course of those struggles its members have acquired various privileges; for it would be of little use to them to possess powers of control unless they were free from all interference in their exercise.

The chief privileges are those of freedom from arrest, freedom of speech, freedom to determine their own procedure, access to the Sovereign and the right to have the most favourable construction put on all their acts.

Freedom from arrest is one of the "ancient and undoubted" privileges of the members of each House. The attempted arrest of the five members by Charles I. in 1642 is perhaps the most notable instance of its violation. The King's conduct in this matter was described by the Commons as "false, scandalous, and illegal." The privilege, however, does not extend to an indictable offence, i.e. one triable at assizes or quarter sessions, or to contempt of court. A recent example of this is the case of Mr. Ginnell, who was imprisoned for contempt of court in Ireland.

Freedom of speech is another of the "ancient and undoubted privileges" of the Houses. The last occasion on which its exercise was directly impugned was in the reign of Charles I., when Sir John Eliot, Denzil Holles, and Benjamin Valentine were imprisoned for seditious speeches in Parliament. The Bill of Rights provided "that the freedom of speech, and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament." In the eighteenth century the freedom of speech of members was interfered with by dismissal from any office or commission they held. At the present time each House has sole control over the speech of its members. The publication outside the House of fair and accurate reports of speeches made inside is also privileged. Formerly the privilege did not extend even to

Parliamentary papers published by order of the House. This was shown in an action brought against Hansards, the printers of the official reports of Parliament; but an Act of Parliament now protects official Parliamentary papers. Each House can exclude strangers from hearing its debates if it wishes.

Every peer has the right of access to the Sovereign, and the Commons collectively, through their Speaker, also have this right. The Sovereign is bound to put the most favourable construction on all that goes on in the House, and cannot take notice of anything done there until it is officially brought before him. The above privileges are demanded by the Speaker in the House of Lords at the commencement of every Parliament.

There are other recognised privileges which are not demanded by the Speaker. Thus each House has complete control over its own procedure. In the case of any bill, for example, either House could, if it chose, suspend all its standing orders and pass the measure through all its stages in a single night. But it could not do anything directly contrary to the law of the land. Thus it could not authorise its serjeant to behead one of its members. Each House has the power to imprison anyone who commits a breach of its privileges. In the case of the House of Commons this imprisonment can last only until the end of the session, but the House of Lords may imprison for a definite term. Each House has also the power of expelling any member who is unfit to serve, for example a member guilty of a misdemeanour. Formerly, too, the Commons were accustomed to determine disputed elections; but the trial of election petitions was handed over to the Judges by an Act of 1868.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PROCESS OF LEGISLATION.

§ 52. Classification of Bills.-Legislation at the present day is effected by statute passed by the two Houses of Parliament and assented to by the Crown. It is true that other bodies have the right of making binding rules, but the authority under which they do so is always derived from Parliament. Before it is passed a statute is called a bill, and as such is introduced into one or other of the two Houses. At first almost all statutes originated in the House of Commons by way of petition, but it gradually became the established rule that, with the exception of money bills, which must be introduced in the Commons, and bills relating to the peerage, which must be introduced in the Lords, all bills may originate in either House. As a matter of fact, the more important Government bills are introduced in the House of Commons.

Bills may be divided into Public and Private bills. Public bills are those that concern the nation as a whole. Private bills are of a local or personal character, and will be dealt with in a later section. Public bills may again be divided into Government bills and those introduced by private members. There is no actual difference between them in form, but Government bills, having the whole weight of the party in power behind them and the privi

lege, to a certain extent, of priority of treatment, have much more chance of being passed. To ensure full discussion all bills are "read" three times in each House. A reading is a resolution or vote of the House agreeing with the bill.

§ 53. A Bill in the Commons.-Any member who desires to introduce a bill in the Commons must first of all give notice of his desire to the House. He then moves that he

This is usually given

may have leave to introduce it. without debate, but occasionally a long debate is held on the introduction of an important measure. In the case of bills introduced under what is known as the "ten minutes rule" one short speech for and one against the bill are allowed. Occasionally leave is refused. When leave has been obtained the bill may be immediately introduced and read a first time, and a date is named for its second reading. Another method of introducing a bill is for the member to bring his bill up to the table of the House, when the title is read by the Clerk and the bill is considered to have been read a first time.

On the motion for second reading a general discussion of the whole principle of the bill takes place. It cannot be altered at this stage, but the House can either pass or reject the measure or direct that it be read that day six months or at any other time beyond the probable duration of the session, which is equivalent to a rejection; or, again, the bill may be passed with instructions that it shall be altered in Committee in accordance with some general principle. After second reading the bill is referred to one of the Standing Committees of the House unless the House otherwise orders. This does not apply to money bills or bills to confirm provisional orders. These committees were set up in 1907 to relieve the congestion of business in the House. They are called the A, B, C, and Scottish