since 1707, when Anne refused assent to the Scotch Militia Bill.

If the Crown is opposed to a measure at the present day, it would either attempt to dissuade the Ministry from introducing it, or dismiss the Ministry and appoint a new one. Failing this, the only alternative is an appeal to the nation by dissolution, and if the nation shows itself in favour of the measure the Crown must yield, or it would probably be forced to abdicate or fight.

A view of the constitutional position of the Crown with regard to the exercise of the prerogatives of dissolution of Parliament, and dismissal of the Ministry, will be found stated later. (m)

Private Bills.

These are either Acts concerning private persons in connection with such matters as marriage settlements, marriage, or divorce, or local Acts connected with such matters as railways, canals, drainage, or the like, passed generally on behalf of public companies or municipal corporations. The procedure, which with slight variations is the same for bills originating in either House, is in outline as follows:

1. Lodging Petition.-A petition with a copy of the bill annexed must be lodged at the Private Bill Office, on or before the 17th of December, and a printed copy of the bill at the Treasury, and at the General Post Office on or before the 18th December. (n)

2. Memorials by Opposers.-Memorials by opposers of the bill that the Standing Orders have not been complied with may now be lodged at the same office, and on the 18th of January following the bill goes before two examiners, when supporters and opposers are heard with the object of ascertaining whether the Standing Orders have been complied with. (0)

3. First Reading. The petition is then sent back to the Private Bill Office with an indorsement that the Standing Orders have been complied with or the reverse, and within

(m) See as to dissolution, p. 188, post; and as to dismissal, p. 187, post. (n) Standing Orders, Nos. 32, 33. See also the provisions of the latter Order as to copies to be deposited at various offices.

(0) Ib. Nos. 69, 74.

one day of such indorsement must be presented to the House by being laid upon the table of the House. The bill is laid upon the table of the House by the clerk of the Private Bill Office, and is either read a first time or referred to the Standing Orders Committee if the Standing Orders have not been complied with. (p)

4. Re-examination and Second Reading.-The bill is then sent back to the Private Bill Office and again examined as to whether it is in accordance with the Standing Orders, and if this is so it comes on for second reading in not less than three days or more than seven days from the first reading (p1): If it passes the second reading the principle, or expediency of the bill is affirmed, conditionally however, and subject to proof of the allegations of fact contained in the petition before committee.

5. Reference to Committee. The bill is then referred to the Committee of Selection, unless it is a railway, canal, or divorce bill, in which case it is referred either to the General Committee on Railway and Canal Bills, or to the Select Committee on Divorce Bills. (q)

committee

6. Discussion in Committee. Before the counsel for the promoters or opposers of the bill are heard and clauses added or amendments made.

7. Third Reading, etc.-The bill as amended in committee is reported to the House and comes up for third reading. If it passes the third reading (at which no amendments, not being merely verbal, may be made) it is sent up to the House of Lords, and eventually receives the royal assent in the same way as other bills.

It may be noticed that the provisions of the Parliament Act, 1911, do not apply to private bills, but only to public, and money bills.

Acts of Grace.

Acts for granting a general pardon are usually designated Acts of Grace." They are generally introduced in the House

(p) Standing Orders, Nos. 195, 196, 197, 199.

(p1) Standing Order, No. 204.

(9) Standing Order, No. 208.

of Lords at the instance of the Crown by a Minister of the Crown, and after being read a first time, a motion is made that the bill be accepted and passed, which is carried without opposition. The bill is then sent to the House of Commons, where it goes through a similar process, and is then presented for the royal assent in the usual manner.

The

Money Bills.

Constitutional Position with regard to Money Bills. With the Bill of Rights the attempts of the Crown to impose taxation without the consent of Parliament came to an end; the Crown, however, remains the head of the executive, and retains through its constitutional ministers the control and management of the public revenue, nor can any sum of money, even though granted by the Commons, be applied by the Treasury in defraying the expenses of the public services without the authority of an order under the sign manual.

It is also a constitutional principle that no bill creating a charge upon the public revenues, or altering the incidence of or imposing new taxation upon the people, shall be introduced in the Commons except upon the recommendation of the Crown, expressed through a member of the Ministry. (r) Such is the present constitutional position of the Crown with regard to the initiation of taxation and the control of the public revenue. The position of the Lords with regard to money bills passed by the Commons, either granting supplies, or imposing new taxation, is at the present day limited to assent. In 1671 the Commons passed a resolution to the effect that the rate of taxation imposed by the Commons should not be altered by the Lords; and again in 1678, that all aids and supplies are the sole gift of the Commons, and ought to begin with the Commons, and such grants should not be changed or altered by the Lords in any way. (s) Thus the Commons assumed the right to initiate and regulate taxation. The Lords, however, might still reject altogether money bills passed by the Commons, and this they did in 1860, refusing to pass the bill for the repeal of the paper (r) See Standing Order, No. 66. (8) Journ. H. of Com., ix. 235, 509.

duties. In consequence the Commons passed a resolution to the effect that the House regarded the power of the Lords to reject money bills with very great jealousy, and that to guard against the undue exercise of that power in the future, the Commons had it in their own power to impose and remit taxation. (t) In the next session the Lords gave way and passed an Act covering the whole financial scheme for the year, and including the repeal of the paper duties. Since that time it has been customary for the budget imposing new taxation for the year to be comprised in single Acts, known since 1894 as Finance Acts, which, until the year 1909, were generally passed by the Lords as a matter of course without amendment. In the year 1909, however, the refusal of the House of Lords to accept the scheme of taxation (involving the Land Value duties) initiated by a Liberal Government, led to the rejection of the Finance Act of that year. Upon the subsequent dissolution and appeal to the electorate, the Liberal Government was again returned in a majority, and the Lords gave way rather than submit to the wholesale creation of peers, which would otherwise have been rendered necessary. The budget proposals of 1909 were therefore enacted in 1910 in the form of the Finance (1909-1910) Act, 1910. The inconvenience caused to the country and the Ministry by the delay of the financial measures necessary for the government of the country, was one of the principal reasons which led to the passing of the Parliament Act, 1911, which enables money bills to receive the royal assent and become Acts of Parliament, even though rejected by the House of Lords. The provisions of the Act relating to money bills will be found stated later. (u)

The present position with regard to money bills, therefore, is that they are originated in the Commons only on the recommendation of the Crown through its responsible ministers, and are either assented to by the Lords and presented to the Crown for the royal assent as a matter of course; or in the event of their being rejected by the Lords, are presented to the Crown for the royal assent under the Parliament Act, 1911.

Procedure with Regard to Money Bills.-The demand by the Crown for supplies to meet the services for the year is (t) Ib. cxv. 360. (u) See p. 93, post.

made in the speech from the throne, which also intimates that estimates will be submitted of the amounts required. The estimates for the financial year, which commences on the 1st of April, are accordingly made out and submitted to the Treasury by the heads of the various departments. The discussion of financial arrangements for the ensuing year is opened by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his budget speech, in which the requirements, as based upon the estimates, are detailed; and if the proceeds of permanent or existing annual taxation are insufficient to meet the demand made by the estimates, a new scheme of taxation is proposed. All questions with regard to money matters are then considered by the House of Commons, either in Committee of Supply or in Committee of Ways and Means, which are both committees of the whole House. (x)

In Committee of Supply the estimates for the expenditure of the ensuing financial year are considered and discussed, and supplies voted to meet the requirements of the year as based upon the estimates. (y)

In Committee of Ways and Means any new modes of taxation, which may be necessary, are discussed and considered, and resolutions passed accordingly, which are subsequently reported to the House and embodied in bills. known as Customs and Inland Revenue Acts and the annual Finance Acts. The taxes which are thus considered and dealt with in Committee of Ways and Means are, however, only such as are required to meet the immediate exigencies of the public revenue. More weighty matters involving changes in the fiscal system or the alteration of permanent duties are dealt with in a separate committee of the whole House. (a)

In Committee of Ways and Means resolutions are also passed, and subsequently embodied by the House in Consolidated Fund Acts, authorizing the payment out of the Consolidated Fund of lump sums to meet the current expenditure of the year as based upon the supply grants already voted

(x) The chairmen of these committees are appointed at the commencement of each session, immediately after the address to the sovereign has been agreed to. (Standing Order, No. 14.)

(y) May's Parl. Pract., 555.

(a) May's Parl. Pract., 557.