to make such provision as in this act appears for restricting the
existing powers of the House of Lords: Be it therefore enacted
by the liing's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in
this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the
same, as follows;-
" I. (l) If a money bill, having been passed by the House of Commons, and sent up to the House of Lords at least one month before the end of the session, is not passed by the House of Lords without amendment within one month after it is so sent up to that house, the bill shall, unless the House of Commons direct to the contrary, be presented to His Majesty and become an act of parliament on the royal assent being signified, notwithstanding that the House of Lords have not consented to the bill.
" (2) A money bill means a bill which in the opinion of the Speaker of the House of Commons contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following subjects — namely, the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration or regulation of taxation; charges on the consolidated fund or the provision of money by parliament; supply; the appropriation, control or regulation of public money; the raising or guarantee of any loan or the repayment thereof; or matters incidental to those subjects or any of them.
" (3) When a bill to which the House of Lords has not consented is presented to His Majesty for assent as a money bill, the bill shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Speaker of the House of Commons that it is a money bill.
" (4) No amendment shall be allowed to a money bill which, in the opinion of the Speaker of the House of Commons, is such as to prevent the bill retaining the character of a money bill.
" 2. (i) It any bill other than a money bill is passed by the House of Commons in three successive sessions (whether of the same parliament or not), and, having been sent up to the House of Lords at least one month before the end of the session, is rejected by the House of Lords in each of those sessions, that bill shall, on its rejection for the third time by the House of Lords, unless the House of Commons direct to the contrary, be presented to His Majesty and become an act of parliament on the royal assent being signified thereto, notwithstanding that the House of Lords has not consented to the bill: provided that this provision shall not take effect unless two years have elapsed between the date of the first introduction of the bill in the House of Commons and the date on which it passes the House of Commons for the third time.
" (2) A bill shall be deemed to be rejected by the House of Lords if it is not passed by the House of Lords either without amendment or with such amendments only as may be agreed to by both houses.
" (3) A bill shall be deemed to be the same bill as a former bill sent up to the House of Lords in the preceding session if, when it is sent up to the House of Lords, it is identical with the former bill or contains only such alterations as are certified by the Speaker of the House of Commons to be necessary owing to the time which has elapsed since the date of the former bill, or to represent amendments which have been made by the House of Lords in the former bill in the preceding session.
" Provided that the House of Commons may, if they think fit, on the passage of such a bill through the house in the second or third session, suggest any further amendments without inserting the amendments in the bill, and any such suggested amendments shall be considered by the House of Lords, and if agreed to by that house, shall be treated as amendments made by the House of Lords and agreed to by the House of Commons; but the exercise of this power by the House of Commons shall not affect the operation of this section in the event of the bill being rejected by the House of Lords.
" 3. .Any certificate of the Speaker of the House of Commons given under this act shall be conclusive for all purposes, and shall not be questioned in any court of law.
" 4. Nothing in this act shall diminish or qualify the existing rights and privileges of the House of Commons.
" 5. Five years shall be substituted for seven years as the time fixed for the maximum duration of parliament under the Septennial Act 1715."
M.eanwhile, in the House of Lords, Lord Rosebery had carried three resolutions declaring certain principles for the reform of the second chamber, which were assented to by the Unionist leaders; the policy opposed to that of the government thus became that of willingness for reform of the constitution of the Upper Chamber, but not for abolition of its powers.
Lord Rosebery's Resolutions. — (l) " That a strong and efficient Second Chamber is not merely an integral part of the British Constitution, but is necessary to the well-being of the State and to the balance of Parliament." (2) " Such a Chamber can best be obtained by the reform and reconstitution of the House of Lords." (3) " That a necessary preliminary to such reform and reconstitution IS the acceptance of the principle that the possession of a peerage should no longer of itself give the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords."
During the summer and autumn the private meetings between the eight leaders were continued, until twenty had been held. But on the 10th of November Mr Asquith issued a brief statement that the conference on the constitutional question had come to an end, without arriving at an agreement. Within a few days he announced that another appeal would at once be made to the electorate. The Parliament Bill was hurriedly introduced into the House of Lords, with a statement by Lord Crewe that no amendments would be accepted. The dissolution was fixed for the 28th of November. Time was short for any declaration of policy by the Unionist peers, but it was given shape at once, first by the adoption of a further resolution moved by Lord Rosebery for the remodelling of the Upper House, and secondly by Lord Lansdowne's shelving the Parliament Bill by coupling the adjournment of the debate on it with the adoption of resolutions providing for the settlement of differences between a reconstituted Upper House and the House of Commons.
Lord Rosebery's additional resolution provided that " in future the House of Lords shall consist of Lords of Parliament: (a) chosen by the whole body of hereditary peers from among themselves and by nomination by the Crown; (i) sitting by virtue of offices and of qualifications held by them; (c) chosen from outside." The Lansdowne resolutions provided in effect that, when the House of Lords had been " reconstituted and reduced in numbers " in accordance with Lord Rosebery's plan, (i) any differences arising between the two houses with regard to a Bill other than a Money Bill, in two successive sessions, and within an interval of not less than one year, should be settled, if not adjustable otherwise, in a joint sitting composed of members of both houses, except in the case of " a matter which is of great gravity and has not been adequately submitted to the judgment of the people, " which should then be " submitted for decision to the electors by Referendum "; (2) and as to Money Bills, the Lords were prepared to forgo their constitutional right of rejection or amendment, if effectual provision were made against " tacking, " the decision whether other than financial matters were dealt with in the Bill resting with a joint committee of both Houses, with the Speaker of the House of Commons as chairman, having a casting vote only.
The general election took place in December, and resulted practically in no change from the previous situation. Both sides won and lost seats, and the eventual numbers were: Liberals 272, Labour 42, Irish Nationalists 84 (8 being " independents" following Mr William O'Brien), Unionists 272. Thus, including the doubtful votes of the 8 Independent Nationalists, Mr Asquith retained an apparent majority of 126 for the ministerial policy, resting as it did on the determination of the Irish Nationalists to pave the way for Home Rule by destroying the veto of the House of Lords.
B. House of Commons Internal Reforms. — We have already sketched the main lines of English parliamentary procedure. Until the forms of the House of Commons were openly utilized to delay the progress of government business by what became known as " obstruction " the changes made in the years following 1832 were comparatively insignificant. They consisted in (i) the discontinuance of superfluous forms, questions and amendments; (2) restrictions of debates upon questions of form; (3) improved arrangements for the distribution of business; (4) the delegation of some of the minor functions of the house to committees and officers of the house; and (5 ) increased publicity in the proceedings of the house. But with the entry of Mr Parnell and his Irish Nationalist followers into parliament (1875-1880) a new era began in the history of the House of Commons. Their tactics were to oppose all business of whatever kind, and at all hours.
It was not until February 1880 that the house so far overcame its reluctance to restrict liberty of discussion as to pass, in its earliest form, the rule dealing with " order in debate." It provided that whenever a member was named by the Speaker or chairman as " disregarding the authority of the chair, or abusing the rules of the house by persistently and wilfully obstructing the rules of the house, " a motion might be made, to be decided without amendment or debate, for his suspension from the service of the house during the remainder of the sitting; and that if the same member should be suspended three times
