Europe -- Politics and government; Political science
By reason of the supreme importance which attaches to the legislative
and fiscal activities of the two chambers it is necessary that
attention be directed at this point to the character of the procedure
which these activities involve. For the purpose in hand it will be
sufficient to speak of only the more important principles of procedure
in relation to the three fundamental phases of legislative work: (1)
the enactment of non-financial public bills, (2) the adoption of money
bills, and (3) the passage of private bills. And within at least the
first two of these domains the preponderance of the Commons is such
that the procedure of that chamber alone need be described. The
procedure of the two chambers upon bills is substantially the same,
although, as is illustrated by the fact that amendments to bills may
be introduced in the Lords at any stage but in the Commons at only
stipulated stages, the methods of conducting business in the upper
house are more elastic than those prevailing in the lower.
*139. Fundamental Principles.*--The legislative omnipotence of
Parliament has been emphasized sufficiently.[194] Any sort of measure
upon any conceivable subject may be introduced and, if a sufficient
number of the members are so minded, enacted into law. No measure (p. 133)
may become law until it has been submitted for the consideration of
both houses, but under the terms of the Parliament Act of 1911 it has
been rendered easy for money bills, and not impossible for bills of
other sorts, to be made law without the assent of the House of Lords.
In the ordinary course of things, a measure is introduced in one
house, put through three readings, sent to the other house, put there
through the same routine, deposited with the House of Lords to await
the royal assent,[195] and, after having been assented to as a matter
of course, proclaimed as law. Bills, as a rule, may be introduced in
either house, by the Government or by a private member. It is
important to observe, however, in the first place, that certain
classes of measures must originate in one or the other of the houses,
e.g., money bills in the Commons and bills of attainder and other
judicial bills in the Lords, and, in the second place, that with the
growth of the leadership of the Government in legislation the
importance, if not the number, of privately introduced bills has
tended steadily to be decreased, and likewise the chances of their
enactment.
[Footnote 194: See p. 45.]
[Footnote 195: Except that money bills remain in
the custody of the Commons.]
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