Table of Contents
Preface v
Notes on Contributors xiii
Introduction: The Growth of Many Centuries Paul Evans 1
Purpose 1
Thomas Erskine May and the Treatise 1
The Age of Precedent 2
The Age of Codification 6
After May 12
Modernists and Methuselas 13
Part I The Man and his Milieu
1 A Sycophant of Real Ability: The Career of Thomas Erskine May William McKay 21
1850: Not the Fittest Man for the Post 21
1856: Clerk Assistant 24
1870: Clerk of the House 26
May the Liberal 27
1886: Elevation and Demise 29
Succession 30
Afterword: May's origins 30
2 Slumber and Success: The House of Commons Library after May Oonagh Gay 33
The Beginnings of the Commons Library 1831-1914 33
Slumber and Frustration: The Early Twentieth-Century Library 35
Towards a Professional Service: The 1940s to the 1970s 36
The House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978: A House Service 40
The Library in the 1980s and 1990s 41
Department of Information Services: The 1990s to 2015 42
3 Magi or Mandarins?: Contemporary Clerkly Culture Emma Crewe 45
Clerks as a Professional Group 45
Knowledge and Words: Magi of the Sacred Rules? 49
Power and Innovation: Mandarins Managing Members? 56
Clerking: Practical Judgement Misrecognised as Tradition 62
Part II The Book
4 Persuading the House: The Use of the Commons Journals as a Source of Precedent Martyn Atkins 69
Introduction 69
The 'Clerk's Book' and the Beginnings of the Commons Journal 70
A Published Record of Proceedings: The Vote 76
Summoning Precedents: The Indexing of the Journals 78
The Journals after May's Treatise 83
5 Manuals before May: From the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Century David Natzler 87
Modus 87
Hooker 89
Hakewill 91
Lambarde 92
Elsynge 93
Scobell 94
Petyt 95
6 Parliamentary Law in the Eighteenth Century: From Commonplace to Treatise Paul Seaward 97
Unintelligible and Confused Stuff 97
Commonplace Books 98
Indexes 104
Hatsell and Beyond 107
The Treatise on Parliamentary Procedure 112
7 From Manual to Authority: The Life and Times of the Treatise Paul Evans Andrej Ninkovic 115
Genesis 115
Wisdom 116
Chronicles 117
Revelation 122
8 Controversy at the Antipodes (and Elsewhere): The International Cousins of the Treatise David Natzler David Bagnall Jean-Phillipe Brochu Peter Fowler 129
Introduction 129
France: Romilly and Bentham 130
Jefferson and the USA 133
New Zealand House of Representatives 134
Fast Pace of Constitutional Developments 134
General Adoption of House of Commons Procedures 135
'Controversy at the Antipodes' 136
Laid Down in 'M' 139
A Home-Grown Treatise 140
The Canadian House of Commons 142
May's Influence on Canadian Parliamentary Procedure 142
The Development of Canadian References 145
The Australian House of Representatives 148
May and Parliamentary Privilege in Australia 152
Part III Procedural Development
9 The Principle of Progress: May and Procedural Reform William McKay 157
Introduction 157
The 1847-48 Committee on Public Business and May's 1849 Pamphlet 158
The Edinburgh Review 1854 160
Select Committee on the Business of the House 1854 162
Select Committee on the Business of the House 1861 164
Joint Committee on the Despatch of Business 1869 165
Select Committee on the Business of the House 1871 165
Select Committee on Public Business 1878 166
Disciplinary Rules 1877-78 167
May and the Development of Statute Law 169
10 May on Money: Supply Proceedings and the Functions of a Legislature Colin Lee 171
Introduction 171
Irresponsible Eagerness: Supply versus Representation 171
Repulsive Labour: The Gladstonian Paradox and the Business of Supply 175
May's Hollow Victory 179
Conclusions 185
11 A History of the Standing Orders Simon Patrick 189
Introduction 189
The House of Commons in 1832 192
Clearing the Ground (1833-55) 193
The Government versus Private Members (1856-80) 195
Collapse of the Old Procedure and Foundation of the New (1881-88) 196
The Government Gain Control of the Time of the House (1889-1919) 198
Tidying up (1920-35) 201
Conclusion in 1935 201
Changes since 1935 202
Conclusion 205
12 Pursuing the Efficient Despatch of Business: The Role of Committees in Procedural Reform since 1900 Mark Egan 207
Introduction 207
Legislation and Sitting Hours 210
Questions 214
Financial Procedure 216
The Development of Scrutiny 218
Divisions 219
Conclusion 221
13 Finding Time: Legislative Procedure since May Jacqy Sharpe Paul Evans 227
Introduction 227
Stirrings of Reform 228
Private Members' Bills 230
Committees on Public Bills 232
Carry-over 234
Allocation of Time and Programming 235
Power of the Lords 237
Delegated Legislation 240
Making Legislative Processes more Transparent 247
Part IV Select Committees
14 Where Did It All Go Right: Developments in Select Committees, 1913-1960 Mark Hutton 251
Introduction 251
The Doldrums 251
'Open' or 'Closed' 253
Publishing Evidence 254
Specialist Support 255
Travel 259
Staff Support 262
Conclusion 266
15 A Road not Taken: Select Committees and the Estimates, 1880-1904 Colin Lee 269
Introduction 269
Select Committees and the Estimates Prior to 1880 269
Select Committees and 'the Champion of Economy', 1884-88 273
Committees and the Reform of Supply Proceedings, 1880-96 277
A Churchillian Revival, 1901-04 280
Conclusions 283
Part V The Lex Parliamentaria Revisited
16 Privilege: The Unfolding Debate with the Courts Eve Samson 287
Introduction: Why privilege? 287
May and Privilege 287
The Debate 288
The Beginnings: Stockdale v Hansard 289
Parliamentary Privilege: The Commons Committees 292
The 1967 and 1977 Committees 293
Comity and Mutual Self-restraint 296
The Two Joint Committees on Parliamentary Privilege 299
Privilege Now 303
Disciplinary Powers 304
Comity and Impeaching and Questioning 306
Conclusion 308
17 Is the Lex Parliamentaria Really Law?: The House of Commons as a Legal System David Howarth 311
Introduction 311
A Legal System 312
Differences from the Common Law 314
Too Different to Count as a Legal System? 315
Deficiency of Reasons and its Cures 317
An Example 318
Consequences 321
Index 323