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 newspaper! 
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 the subjec 
 posed to g 
 odical son 
 the Comn 
 l^slative 
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 from year 
 three o'ch 
 for which 
 the Comr 
 with the I 
 occupy th 
 aace with i 
 in the Hoi 
 mphich fills 
 llfeen thre 
 jpimcipal ( 
 niiunces £ 
 tbt Gover 
 and the S 
 senger.' 
 the Mace 
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 on the tc 
 Qerks, wl: 
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THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION. 
 
 279 
 
 .■:t>; 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION. 
 
 r 
 
 ^ 
 
 THE ceremonies which attend the open- 
 ing of our Pariiament have been so 
 often and so fully described in the leading 
 newspapers of the country, that it is not 
 necessary we should take up the attention 
 <^ij^r readers with any lengthy remarks on 
 subject, in an article in which it is pro- 
 d to give to the clientele of this peri- 
 ical some idea of the manner in which 
 the Commons of Canada discharge their 
 l^slative duties from day to day. 
 
 "These ceremonies are invariably the same 
 figoin year to year.H A few minutes before 
 thtee o'clock in "the afternoon of the day 
 fiai which Parliament has been summoned, 
 t&e Commons assemble in the i^hamber, 
 HJfh the Speaker in \k • chair. ,' Members 
 OOBupy themselves in renewing'^acquaint- 
 ance with their personal and political friends 
 in the House ; but the buzz of conversation 
 ilhich fills the chamber stops in an instant 
 when three heavy knocks are heard ori^the 
 pSncipal doorCZ The Sergeant-at-Mffis^an- 
 ttddinces a Message from His Excellency 
 tfeie Governor General amid a deep silence, 
 >|0|^ the Speaker replies : ' Admit the Mes- 
 ■'trager.' The Sergeant-at-Arms shoulders 
 the Mace, a richly gilded iVistrument sur- 
 mounted by a Crown,— which always lies 
 on the table in front of the Speaker and 
 Clerks, whilst the House is in actual session, 
 —and admits a gentleman, dressed in a 
 handsome official costume, and carrying a 
 lall ebony stick, as the insignia of his 
 kial standing as Gentleman-Usher of the 
 lack Rod. He bows solemnly to the 
 eaker (who takes off his cocked hat) and 
 quests, in the name of His Excellency, 
 presence of the Commons to the Sen- 
 Chan, er. When he has made this 
 juest, once in English and again in 
 ^•ench, he bows gracefully and backs out 
 " the Chamber in accordance with official 
 [iquette. Then the members leave their 
 sees, the Speaker and the Clerk and two 
 lerks Assistant put on their cocked hats, 
 |e Sergeant-at-Arms again shoulders the 
 
 mace, and the whole assembly proceeds to 
 the bar of the Senate Chamber. 
 / Here a fine pageant is presented. On 
 The gilded chair, under a heavy crimson 
 canopy, is seated the Governor General, 
 dressed in his usual uniform and decorated 
 with his orders, while on either side of him 
 stand the Premier and members of the 
 Cabinet, Aids-de-Camp, Militi' officers, 
 and Deputy Heads of Departments, nearly 
 all in costumes de ngueur. Immediately in 
 front of the Governor General are seated 
 the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme 
 Court, in their robes of crimson and er- 
 mine, and the Chaplain and Clerks, in their 
 silk gowns. Below the table are a number 
 of seats devoted to Episcopal dignitaries, 
 clergymen of all denominations, and Judges 
 not of the Supreme Court. The Senators, 
 in evening dress, occupy a row of seats on 
 the floor, on each side of the Chamber. 
 All the other seajs are taken up by ladies 
 in evening dress^Avho illustrate the beauty 
 and fashion of the political capital on such 
 occasions."?' The galleries are packed far 
 beyond their capacity with men and women, 
 but chiefly the latter. Though the cere- 
 mony is invariably the same, the number 
 never diminishes, but session after session 
 people flock^to the galleries with unflagging 
 enthusiasm!. ' 
 
 a The SpeaRer and Clerks apj'-oach the 
 Bar, and the Governor General takes off 
 his hat in recognition of the presence of the 
 Commons of Canada in response to his 
 constitutional request. Then His Excel- 
 lency reads his Speech in clear, audible 
 tones, and the members of the Commons, 
 not in the confidence of the Ministry, listen 
 intently to the official announcement of the 
 programme for the session. When the 
 Governor General has concluded reading 
 his English copy of the Speech, he repeats 
 the same in French, in pursuance of that 
 constitutional usage, now more than a cen- 
 tury old, which preserves the use of the 
 French language in all our legislation af- 
 
sSo 
 
 THE CANADIAN MONTHL Y. 
 
 '^ 
 
 y 
 
 fecting the Province of Quebec. When the 
 Speech is finished, the Secretary of the 
 Governor General hands a written copy to 
 the Speaker, who then bows and retires to 
 ^le Chamber of the Commons. 
 ;_|__The etiquette obsened on these occa- 
 sions is confined to a bow from the Speaker 
 on his entrance and exit, but we may men- 
 tion \\tx&, par parent liese, that in times not 
 very distant, a Governor General made a 
 pretentious claim which excited the ire of 
 the popular branch of the old Canadian 
 Parliament. We find it stated in an offi- 
 cial volume which records the Speakers' 
 Decisions that, on the occasion of present- 
 ing to the Governor General the Address 
 in answer to the Speech from the Throne, 
 at the opening of the first session of 1863, 
 a difference arose between the S])eaker of 
 the Legislative Council and His Excellen- 
 cy's Secretary as to the posture the Speaker 
 should assume in presenting the Address. 
 In the Assembly the Speaker communicated 
 certain documents which he had received 
 from the Governor's Secretar)', on the sub- 
 ject of the etit[uette observed in presenting 
 an Address to Her Majesty the Queen by 
 the Speaker of the Commons, and when 
 these papers had been read, the Speaker 
 was directly asked whether he intended to 
 follow the formula pointed out in these 
 documents. Mr. Turcottc, who then occu- 
 pied the Speaker's chair, was very emphatic 
 in his answer : ' He could assure the House 
 that he would kneel to no one but his 
 Sovereign.' So strong was the feeling of 
 the House on that occasion, that the ob- 
 noxious documents were not even allowed 
 to be entered on the journals of the House. 
 Since those days the Answer to the Speech 
 is not even presented by the Sr iker, but 
 ' by such members of the House as are of 
 the Queen's Privy Council ;' and the rejily 
 of His Excellency thereto is subse(iuently 
 brought down 'oy the Premier and read by 
 the Speaker in his place, in the presence of 
 the members, who invariably rise and stand 
 uncovered."' 1 
 
 LBut weTnust accompany the Speaker orL, 
 his return to the Commons' Chambers 
 Parliament having been formally opened, 
 the House is at length in a position to go 
 on with the business. 'I'he first proceeding 
 is almost invariably the presentation to the 
 House of Certificates and Repgrts relating 
 to elections which have been held during 
 
 the recess, and then new members are in- 
 troduced and take their seats, the necessary 
 oath having been ])reviously taken in the 
 Clerk's office. Leading members of the 
 Government and Opposition generally in- 
 troduce their resi)ective friends, who are 
 loudly cheered by one party or the other. 
 All members must subscribe to the neces- 
 sary oath before they can Jake their seats 
 and vote in the House. /Some cases of 
 members inadvertently taHng their seats 
 and voting on a cjuestion have occurred in 
 the Canadian House. Eor instance, in the 
 session of 1875, ^^''- Mackenzie made a 
 motion directing the attention of the Com- 
 mittee on Privileges and Elections to the 
 fact that the member for Centre Wellington 
 (Mr. Orton) had voted before he had taken 
 the oath prescribed by the British North 
 America Act of Union. The C jmmittee 
 reported subsequently that Mr. Orton was 
 not liable to any penalty for the omisfion 
 in (juestion, but at the same time recom- 
 mended the erasure of his name from the 
 division list. In order to prevent such 
 mistakes in the future, it was decided dur- 
 ing the present session to introduce every 
 member recently elected. _ / 
 ywhen the Election cases nave been dis- 
 l)Osed of, it is the practice for a member ot 
 the Government to jjresent a bill, and have 
 it read a first time pro forma, ' in order to 
 assert the right of the Commons to delib- 
 erate, without reference to the immediate 
 cause of summons.' Then it is u.sual for 
 the Speaker to rise and state that when the 
 House attended His Excellency in the Sen- 
 ate Chamber, he had been pleased to make 
 a speech to both Houses of Parliament, of 
 which, Mr. Speaker added, he had ' to pre- 
 vent mistakes obtained a cony.' The reail- 
 ing of the Speech is almost invariably dis- 
 jjensed with, and then, on motion of the 
 Premier, it is ordered to be taken into con- 
 sideration on a future day. Little business 
 is done, as a rule, on the first day of the 
 session, beyond the presentation of reports 
 of Departments and other public papers of 
 interest. Then the House adjourns, always 
 on motion of the Premier or a member of 
 the Government in his absence. / For some 
 years past, since the advent of 4:;6rd Duf- 
 ferin, a Drawing Room is held in the even- 
 ing in the Senate Chamber, and the mem 
 bers of the two Houses, with their wives 
 and daughters, have an opportunity of pay- 
 
 .;.* 
 
 ?^ 
 
 
 Mi 
 
ors are in- 
 2 necessary 
 ken in the 
 ers of the 
 ■nerally in- 
 , who are 
 the other, 
 the neces- 
 their seats 
 ; cases of 
 heir seats 
 ccurred in 
 ice, in the 
 i made a 
 the Com- 
 >ns to the 
 Vellington 
 had taken 
 ish North 
 ■ jnimittee 
 )rton was 
 omission 
 le recom- 
 from the 
 ent such 
 ided dur- 
 uce every 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION. 
 
 281 
 
 
 ing their respects to their Excellencies, who 
 stand for hours on the dais of the Throne, 
 and return the bows of a steady stream of 
 gentlemen and ladies, all of whom appear 
 in evening costume. The Senate Cham- 
 ber, on such occasions, presents a very 
 brilliant spectacle, and proves how much 
 more attractive complexions and millinery 
 look under the gas-light. "^ 
 / But before we proceed to describe the 
 ^-details of an ordinary day's business in the 
 House, it will be useful to take a glance at 
 the Chamber itself The fine room devoted 
 to the Commons is already filled to its full 
 capacity, by the two hundred and odd 
 members who now represent the different 
 Provinces of Canada, and the speculative 
 mind may well wonder where the additional 
 members are to sit when British Columbia, 
 Manitoba, and Keewatin receive that repre- 
 sentation to which they will be entitled when 
 their wilderness lands are filled up by the 
 large population which must sooner or later 
 follow the Pacific Railway. A broad passage 
 runs from the entrance door to the Sjieak 
 er's Chair, which is raised on a low platform 
 directly under the small gallery where the 
 short-hand writers of the i)ress and other 
 nevvsi)aper men take their notes with unflag- 
 ging industry. Just below the Speaker's 
 Chair, and in the middle of this passage, is 
 the Clerk's table, where the Clerk, Clerk 
 Assistant, and Second Clerk Assistant, sit in 
 silk gowns and black dress. The mace 
 rests on a silk cushion on the lower end of 
 the table, and its official guardian, the 
 Sergeant-at-Arms, has a seat at a desk, close 
 to the bar at the entrance. The members 
 are seated at desks which gradually rise 
 from the floor until they reach immediately 
 below the galleries. Each desk is ticketed 
 with a name, and conseiiuently no confusion 
 or difficulty can rise as to a member's place. 
 In P^ngland only a few members of the 
 government and a few others enjoy a place 
 by courtesy, while the great majority can 
 only secure a seat for the debate by being 
 present at prayers. One can then put his 
 card in the brass i)late which is appended 
 to the back of the seat, or he may leave his 
 hat or glove in evidence of his occupancy. 
 So strict are the rules of the British Com- 
 mons on this point that it is ordered, ' No 
 member's name may be affixed to any seat 
 in the House before prayers.' But the 
 members of our House are relieved from 
 all difficulty in this particular. Before they 
 4 
 
 reach Ottawa, their seats are assigned them, 
 and they are given, besides, convenient 
 desks — a luxury not yet granted to British 
 Commoners. The members of the Gov- 
 ernment of course occipy the front seats to 
 the right of the Speaker, whilst the leader 
 and prominent members of the Opi)osition 
 sit on the left. The older and best known 
 members naturally occupy the front rows of 
 seats, and the younger necessarily get crowd- 
 ed to the rear. The seats immediately 
 beneath the galleries are under the disad- 
 vantages of being more exposed to draughts 
 and of being badly situated for hearing, 
 especially as there is a constant hum and 
 bustle when routine business is in progress. 
 Pages are constantly rushing to and fro, 
 with letters and papers, and from the open- 
 ing to the close of the session these little 
 fellows never seem to get tired, though they 
 are ke^ running until very late hours of the 
 night.Ij. 
 
 "iCThe House meets every day at three 
 o'clock, unless, as it happens often near the 
 close of the session, it is called for an earlier 
 hour with the view of facilitating public 
 business. At that hour the Speaker and 
 Clerks, preceded by the Mace, file into the 
 Chamber, and the first proceeding is the 
 ojiening of the doors, unless it is necessary 
 to discuss some (juestion of privilege or 
 other matter which it is advisable to con- 
 aiiler before the admission of the public. 
 ;No prayers are read in our House, as it has 
 'always been the practice in the British 
 Commons, and the Senate is the only branch 
 of our Pailiamenl that has the privilege of 
 a Chaplain.* 'l"he first proceeding as soon 
 as the doors^are opened and the public has 
 
 •>^ 
 
 -v 
 
 been admitted to the g.lrleries, is the presen- ^/ , 
 
 tation of petitions. The valuable privilege, 
 of petitioning the Houses, so dear to the 
 heart of every Uritisii subject, is a very 
 tame and monotonous i)roceeding. A mem- 
 ber rises in his place, and confines himself 
 to a simple statfcment of the contents of the 
 l)etition, which is taken by the page to the 
 Clerk's table, whence it is sent to an office 
 up stairs, where it is carefully read to see 
 that it does not infringe any rule, and then 
 endorsed with the name of the member 
 presenting it, and a brief statement of its 
 subject-matter. The petitions presented on 
 one day are brought up to the table two 
 days subsequently, and are read and received 
 
 / • Mr. Mncdonnld of Toronto has -iindi; a ni>)tion 
 fln this subject during Uil- |)resi;nt session, "^ 
 
■"Vra 
 
 383 
 
 THE CANADIAN MONTHL Y. 
 
 4 
 
 if they do not contain any objectionable 
 matter. It is very rarely that petitions are 
 read at length, for the rule is to read only 
 the endorsation on the back of each, which 
 explairvs its character. Every session large 
 numbers are presented on some subject 
 which is engaging at the time much public 
 attention. (For a year or two memorials 
 asking for a Prohibitory Li(|uor Law came 
 in by hundreds, and in such a case the Clerk 
 confines himself to a mere statement of the 
 number on that particular subject. Last 
 session the petitions on that subject were 
 exhausted, and petitions asking for protec- 
 tion to certain native manufactures became 
 the order of the day^^' Petitions are con- 
 stantly thrown out on account of informality. 
 For instance, it is irregular to ask for grants 
 of money or any pecuniary compensation, 
 on the wise principle which only allows the 
 Government to initiate money votes. Any 
 petitions containing offensive imputations 
 upon the character or conduct of Parliament 
 or the Courts of Justice, or other constitu- 
 ted authority, will not be received. Some 
 of the names to a petition must always be 
 appended to the same sheet on which it is 
 written. A paper assuming the style of a 
 declaration, an address of thanks, or a re- 
 monstrance only, without a proper form of 
 prayer will not be received. In a case of 
 informality, however, the petition is entered 
 on thoji^urnals, with the reason for its rejec- 
 tion, [and consequently if the petitioners 
 only Sdesire to obtain publicity of their 
 wishes they get what they want ; but of 
 course no action can be taken on such a 
 documefit, for it is no longer before Parlia- 
 ment. ~u. 
 The Answer to the Speech is the first impor- 
 tant business that is taken up immediately 
 after the commencement of the session, 
 two members supporting the administration, 
 generally the two youngest — that is to say 
 the most recently elecced — are chosen to 
 move the Address, which is first introduced 
 in the shape of a resolution, containing a 
 number of separate paragraphs in answer 
 to the Governor General's Speech. The 
 mover and seconder always appear in Eng- 
 land iti uniform or full dress for that purpose, 
 but the same custom is not observed here 
 as a rule. As the speakers are generally 
 new to the House, they are always heard 
 with great forbearance and attention, and 
 those prominent members of the Govern- 
 
 ment and Opposition who follow in debate 
 seldom fail to pay some graceful compli- 
 ment to the maiden efforts of the speakers. 
 It is competent for any one at this stage to 
 move an amendment to the Address, but 
 this is only done in rare cases. It is con- 
 sidered more courteous to the representa- 
 tive of the Sovereign to pass the Address 
 as a matter of course, especially r<- it is 
 framed to avoid opposition. It is also felt 
 to be very inconvenient to discuss important 
 questions at a stage when the House has 
 not before it all the papers which it requires 
 foi its information. In a very critical con- 
 dition of public affairs, however, a strong 
 Opposition which believes it has the sym- 
 pathy and support of the country, will prob- 
 ably move a motion of direct want of con- 
 fidence in the Government of the day, but 
 that is an exceptional state of things and 
 only proves the usage which obtains as a 
 tuje. 
 
 VWhen the Address has been passed, and 
 the Standing Committees of the House 
 struck, the working machiuery of the session 
 may be said to be in motion. The Com- 
 mittees are at work in the morning, and the 
 House in the afternoon and evening. Then 
 the Government bring down as rapidly as 
 possible the public reports, and members 
 commence to ask ' Questions,' and give 
 ' Notices of Motion,' on the multifarious 
 topics that suggest themselves. The House 
 has before it every day a sheet containing 
 the ' Votes and Proceedings' of the pre- 
 vious day, and al.so a paper containing the 
 ' Orders of the Day.' The ' Votes and Pro- 
 ceedings ' publish the ' Questions' and 'No- 
 tices of Motion' according as they are made, 
 but these cannot be taken up and discussed 
 in the House until they appear, according 
 to the rule, on the Order Paper. It is a rule 
 of the House that two days' notice must be 
 given of a motion for leave to present a 
 Bill, Resolution, or Address, for the ap- 
 pointment of any Committee, or for the put- 
 ting of a question. Only in case of the 
 unanimous consent of the House can this 
 rule be deviated from. The reason of such 
 a rule, of course, is obvious ; it is to prevent 
 the House being surprised by a motion sud- 
 denly sprung upon it. Cases, however, of 
 Privilege, can be immediately brought to 
 the notice of the House, and obtain priority 
 over all others. For instance, in the ses- 
 sion of 1874, priority was given to a motion 
 
 ^ ^^m^sss m ^ - 
 
 smppn 
 

 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION. 
 
 a83 
 
 fi.r the expulsion of Louis Riel, then elect- 
 ed to the House, though it was away down 
 among the ' Notices ' on the Order Paper. 
 The debate was continued in the evening 
 after recess, though an hour ought to have 
 been devoted to the consideration of pri- 
 vate bills. 
 
 rOn the days not devoted to Government 
 business, private members have all the op- 
 portunity they require to put the questions 
 or make the motions they have placed on 
 the paper. A member must confine him- 
 self to the question of which he has given 
 notice, and cannot be allowed to make a 
 speech on the subject. The consequence 
 is, he generally reads the question off the 
 paper, and the member of the Government 
 whose province it is to reply is equally 
 brief and emphatic, though more latitude is 
 allowed in the case of the latter. When 
 notices of motion are reached, they are 
 taken up in their order and discussed. Qh 
 previous sessions motions have been allow- 
 ed to remain week after week on the paper, 
 but henceforth it is proposed to enforce the 
 rule, which orders that they shall be drop- 
 ped if they are not taken up when they are 
 , called. In this way the Ordec^Paper will 
 ' not be crowded day after day.^ 
 ^ The rules with respect to debate are 
 ' necessarily very strict. No member can 
 speak except to a motion which is in regu- 
 lar form before the House. A reply is only 
 allowed, by courtesy, from the member who 
 • has proposed a distinct question, and not 
 from one who has made an amendment. But 
 directly a new question has been proposed, 
 as 'that this House adjourn,' 'the pre- 
 ^ous question,' or an amendment, members 
 are allowed to speak again, as ' the rule 
 only applies strictly to the prevention of 
 more than one speech to each separate 
 question proposed. ' Members, as a rule, 
 sit with their hats on or off as they may 
 please, but the moment they rise to speak, 
 they must uncover and address themselves 
 to the Chair. If any member should in- 
 advertently say ' Gentlemen ' instead of 
 ' Mr. Speaker, ' he will be called to order, 
 though in the Senate a speaker addresses 
 himself to ' Honorable Gentlemen.' Whilst 
 a member is speaking no one is allowed to 
 interrupt him except with his own consent, 
 or he has infringed a point of order, and no 
 one should pass between him and the 
 Chair, because he is supposed to be address- 
 
 ing himself particularly to the Speaker. 
 Any offensive allusions against the House 
 or any member thereof are not permissible. 
 No member must be referred to by name, 
 but every one disappears under the title of 
 an ' honorable member ' for somewhere, and 
 this rule, like so many others, has for its 
 objects the repression of personalities and 
 the temperate, calm conduct of debate. 
 No reflection must be cast on the Upper 
 House, though members who have a wish 
 to make a sly hit at that branch generally 
 get out of the difficulty by referring to ' an- 
 other place. ' Many other rules exist, hav- 
 ing for their object the keeping of debate 
 within moderate bounds, but it is not neces- 
 sary to review them in a brief sketch of 
 this character. Members have one safety 
 valve, when they believe themselves to be 
 too suddenly ' choked off, ' and that is, on 
 a motion for adjournment. When such a 
 motion is made in the course of a debate, 
 full scope is given to a discussion. It has 
 been attempted time and again, ^ the 
 British as in the Canadian House of Com- 
 mons,'j_to enforce a stricter practice, and 
 confine members to the question of ad- 
 journment, but the Houses have never ap- 
 peared willing to limit too closely the privi- 
 lege of members in this particular, especial- 
 ly as it is made use of only^ in rare cases. 
 Members,[we may add here,' are not allow- 
 ed to read from written manuscripts, though 
 they may speak from notes ; but the Hor.iiC 
 is at times indulgent to new and diffident 
 members, and winks at notes which some- 
 times develop into a written speech. In 
 the Canadian as in the British Commons 
 the style of debate has become essentially 
 practical. We hear none of that impas- 
 sioned rhetoric and flowery eloquence which 
 once filled our legislative halls. The de- 
 bates invaFktbl)^ mark the activity and 
 earnest spirit of a representative assembly 
 entrusted with the important business of a 
 young people, engaged injaying the foun- 
 dation of a future Empire.(^ Speeches with- 
 out pretentions to oratory illustrate the 
 strong common-sense, the practical know- 
 ledge, and the unwearied industry which 
 the public men of the present day rnust—^ 
 bring to the discussion of public affairs. ^ ( 
 jWhen great questions are before our lead- 
 mg men they display a force of argument, 
 a correctness of language, an earnestness of 
 purpose, and an appreciation of their 
 
 
 i 
 
'm 
 
 284 
 
 TBE CANADIAN MONTHL Y. 
 
 subject, which prove them to be fitting 
 compeers, on a narrower stage of action, of 
 those able statesmen who guide the des- 
 tinies of the British Kmpire in the Parlia- 
 ^ ment of England^_J 
 
 r^ To the uninitTated tlie mode of obtain- 
 ing the opinion of the House on a (juestion 
 may be somewhat perplexing, and we shall 
 therefore try to explain it. Let us suppose 
 that the Premier has proposed a motion 
 ^.<t- with reference tosthe Canada Pacific Rail- 
 way. When hfe 'has made his speech he 
 < < "'"hands his motion (which must always be 
 seconded) to the Speaker, who reads it to 
 the House in English, and then sends it to 
 ', ; the table to be read in French in case he 
 does not understand that language. Then 
 the motion may be considered regularly be- 
 fore the House ; it may be debated, or 
 amended as the House may think proper. 
 A member of the Opposition proposes an 
 amendment, which is seconded — foi other- 
 wise it cannot be taken up — and also read 
 by the Speaker. It is also competent to 
 move an amendment to the amendment on 
 ordinary questions, but not when an 
 amendment is proposed on the motion for 
 the House to go into Committee of Suj)- 
 ply. But let us suppose there are only 
 two motions before the House — the original 
 motion and one in amendment. When 
 discussion has been exhausted and cries of 
 * question, question, ' over the House 
 prove the desire for a conclusion to the de- 
 bate, the Speaker raises in his place and 
 asks the House if it is ' ready for the ques- 
 tion. ' If the debate is really concluded — 
 and any member who may m ' to speak 
 will soon find if the patience 01 .ne House 
 is exhausted and will very wisely refrain 
 from saying anything at that juncture — the 
 Speaker orders the Sergeant-at-Arms ' to 
 call in the members ' — an order which for- 
 bids all further debate. In the course of a 
 few minutes the vacant seats soon fill up, 
 and the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Whips re- 
 turn from the adjacent rooms where bells 
 have been ringing for some moments to in- 
 dicate a division. Then the Speaker rises 
 once more and finally ' puts the question, ' 
 as it is called in Parliamentary phrase. He 
 first reads the original motion, and second- 
 ly the amendment. Then both motions 
 are read in French at the table, and the 
 Speaker, who is still standing, says : ' The 
 question is now on the amendment. Those 
 
 in favor of the motion will please rise. ' /__In 
 England the members file into two distinct 
 lobbies and their votes are taken by two 
 tellers for each party, while two clerks are 
 stationed near each of the entrances of the 
 House, holding lists of the members, in 
 alpliubetical order, printed upon large 
 sheets of thick pasteboard, so as to avoid 
 the trouble and delay of turning over pages. 
 While the members are passing into the 
 House again, the clerks place a mark 
 against each of their names ; and, at the 
 same time, the tellers count the number. 
 When both parties have returned into the 
 House the tellers on either side come up 
 to the table (the tellers for the majority be- 
 ing on the right) ; and one of the tellers for 
 the majority reports the numbers. The 
 Speaker also declares them, and states the 
 determination of the House. But in the 
 Canadian House the practice is very differ- 
 ent from that of the English Commons, as 
 well as from that of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives at Washington, where the mem- 
 bers are called from printed lists by the 
 Clerk, and reply 'Aye,' or 'Nay' to a ques- 
 tion. In Canada]The usage is for the 
 Chief Clerk to check off the names of each 
 member who stands up, and is called by the 
 Assstant Clerk. It follows that the latter 
 muse know the face of every one of the two 
 hundred and odd members who make up 
 the Commons. The least mistake in a 
 name is very embarrassing, but it would be 
 still more perplexing to the Speaker and 
 standing members if the Assistant Clerk 
 should lose his memory for a minute or 
 two. However, no such difficulty has so 
 far ever occurred in our Parliamenta^ 
 practice — some six hundred votes being at 
 times taken in the course of an hour, 
 "f When the vote has been taken of the 
 members in favour of the amendment the 
 Speaker calls upon those against it to rise, 
 and the same process is gone through with. 
 If the amendment is rejected the Speaker 
 declares it lost — ' passed in the negative ' — 
 and then proceeds to put the question on 
 the main motion, though it is quite regular 
 to move another amendment provided it is 
 not similar in language and purport to the 
 one just rejected. If the main motion is 
 adopted on a division the Speaker declares 
 it carried — ' passed in the affirmative ' — and 
 that ends the matter. When the division 
 has been taken the Clerk reads off the mem- 
 
 r. 
 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION 
 
 «85 
 
 r 
 
 bers on each side, but until tliat is done 
 and the Speaker declares the motion ' pass- 
 ed in the affirmative or negative, ' it is not 
 permissible for any member to cross the 
 House or leave his seat ; for if he does so, 
 he is saluted with an uproar of cries of 
 ' order, ' which soon glues him to his chair. 
 Neither will the vote of a member be allow- 
 ed, if attention be called to the fact that he 
 was not in the House when the Speaker 
 put the question, but only took his seat 
 while the division was in progress. In 
 taking the names, the members, it may be 
 mentioned, stand in rows, and sit down as 
 soon as their names are called, and conse- 
 (juently entered. (IVe have just shown that 
 very little sets th<r House off into laughter, 
 when a member forgets the rule which 
 keeps him in his place during a division. 
 Not long ago much amusement was invari- 
 ably caused if two gentlemen named Mr. 
 Killam and Mr. Coffin, who sat together, 
 were called in their due order, but the 
 Assistant Clerk soon saw the joke and gen- 
 erally managed to interpolate another 
 name between the two in order to prevent 
 BO deadly a sequenceTl "^yv ^' 
 
 The most importanfauties oi the House 
 are in connection with money-matters. 
 Here the constitution and the rules of 
 Parliament have imposed every guard and 
 check upon hasty expenditure or the im- 
 position of taxes without due consideration. 
 By the Union Act all measures for appro- 
 priating any part of the public revenue, or 
 for imposing any tax or impost must origi- 
 nate in the House of Commons. The 
 House itself is restrained by the same Act. 
 It cannot adopt or pass ' any vote, resolu- 
 tion, address, or bill, for the appropriation 
 of any part of the public revenue, or for 
 any tax or impost, to any purpose that 
 has not been first recommended to the 
 House by a message of the Governor- 
 General' A rule of the House itself 
 declares that if any motion be made in 
 the House for any public aid or charge 
 upon the people, ' the consideration or de- 
 bate thereof may not be presently entered 
 upon, but shall be adjourned .ntil such 
 fur her day as the House shall think fit 
 to appoint ; and then it shall be referred 
 to a Committee of the whole House, be- 
 fore any resolution or vote of the House 
 do pass thereon.' It follows from what 
 precedes that no private member is permit- 
 
 ted to propose a Dominion tax upon the 
 peojjle, or to introduce a bill providing for 
 a public grant ; such measures must be ini- 
 tiated by ninisters of the Crown in the 
 shape of resolutions which are to be con- 
 sidered in Committee of the whole, and 
 when adopted form the basis for a bill. 
 No petition, as we have already shown, 
 can be received if it asks for any grant or 
 charge upon the public revenue, unless it 
 is first recommended by the Crown. It 
 happens sometimes, however, that a peti- 
 tion asks for entjuiry befo'-e a special Com- 
 mittee into certain claims which the peti- 
 tioner may have against the Government, 
 and then if the Government is willing, the 
 Committee is granted ; but such cases are 
 under our present practice of rare occur- 
 rence, for the Government is very properly 
 jealous of any attempt to deviate from a 
 wise constitutional rule which prevents the 
 inconsiderate expenditure of public money. 
 Individual members of the House cannot 
 have the same feeling of responsibility as a 
 Government, which is constitutionally the 
 guardian of the public purse, and is held 
 strictly to account for every dollar of ex- 
 penditure. ' So rigidly is the principle of 
 GovernmentaT responsibility enforced, that 
 the House has even refused to receive a 
 report from a select Committee recommend- 
 ing the appointment of a Royal Commission 
 to visit the United States and report on the 
 Maine Licjuor Law. The report was there- 
 upon withdrawn to allow the chairman an 
 opportunity of so amending the report that 
 it might fkll within the rulesT/^bstract 
 resolutions are allowed, ' on fHfe principle 
 that not being offered in a form in which a 
 vote of the House for granting money, or 
 imposing a burthen, can be regularly agreed 
 to, they are barren of results ; ' but for that 
 very reason they are ' objectionable, and 
 being an evasion of wholesome rules, they 
 are discouraged as much as possible."^ 
 > The Committees of Supply and Ways and 
 Means are the constitutional mode of pro- 
 viding for the public expenditures. These 
 Committees are now appointed at the be- 
 ginning of every session, so soon as an 
 address has been passed in answer to His 
 Excellency's speech. As soon as the Com- 
 mittee of Supply has been formed, and the 
 
 y * May ; Parliamentary Practice, 
 flientary Government. 7 
 
 Todd ; Parlia- 
 
 _J 
 
tS6 
 
 Jr^^^-^ ^ 
 
 w t ;^j^ • 
 
 . / A ..1^. / 
 
 THE CANADIAN MONTHL Y. 
 
 
 Government are ready, they bring down a 
 message from His Excellency with the 
 Estimates of the sums required for the pub- 
 lic service. For severai years past the 
 Finance Minister has brought down his 
 budget and made his annual financial 
 statement on the motion for the House to 
 go into Committee of Supply. But in case 
 of a change of the Tariff, the more consti- 
 tutional mode is to make his speech when 
 he proposes certain resolutions to be adop- 
 ted by the Committee of Ways and Means, 
 and this is generally done when the Esti- 
 mates are before the House and a basis is 
 made for the Committee in question. The 
 rules for proceeding in the Committees of 
 Supply and Ways and Means are precisel' 
 similar to those observed in other Com- 
 mittees of the whole House. Members 
 are not confined to one speech, but may 
 address the Committee as often as they 
 please on a particular resolution. The 
 Chairman acts as Speaker and decides all 
 questions of order, unless an appeal is made 
 to the House, and in that case the Speaker 
 immediately resumes.the Chair, and decides 
 the point in dispute.^ ' After the Budget is 
 formally before the House, and the leading 
 members on both sides have made their 
 speeches on the ?ommercial and financial 
 state of the country, the Committee of 
 Supply meets regularly and disposes of a 
 large amount of money at every session ; 
 but every vote is very carefully scrutinized 
 and the fullest explanations are demanded 
 from the Government, who, on such occa- 
 sions, have to perform the most difficult and 
 wearisome part of their legislative duties. 
 Resolutions agreed to in Committee are 
 reported to the House, but they are not 
 received until a later day. L This is a rule 
 which can only be relaxed in an extraor- 
 dinary emergenc y. | When the Committee 
 of Supply has nnished its labours, and 
 all the money votes have been adopted by 
 the House, the Committee of Ways and 
 Means passes certain resolutions which pro- 
 inde for the grants shown to be necessary 
 by the first mentioned Committee, and then 
 a bill, called the Supply Bill, is introduced 
 by the Government to carry out the resolu- 
 tions. This bill has often passed all its 
 stages in one day, but this is not in accord- 
 ance with the British practice, where the 
 rule requiring delay in case of money bills, 
 is strictly carried out. The bill goes up to 
 
 the Senate, where, however, it is never 
 altered, in accordance with constitutional 
 usage. On its return to the Commons, it 
 is carried up by the Speaker to the Senate 
 Chamber. When His Excellency has as- 
 sented to the bills jmssed by Parliament 
 during the session, the Speaker of the 
 Commons addresses His Excellency, and 
 asks for his assent to the Bill, and this 
 assent is granted with the usual formula: — 
 ' In Her Majesty's name, His Excellency 
 the Governor General thanks her loyal sub- 
 jects, accepts their benevolence, and assents 
 to this Bill.' 
 
 ■T<^ ^rom the commencement to the close 
 of the session, the House is kept constantly 
 busy from its hour of meeting, three o'clock, 
 until a late hour of night, and very fre- 
 quently until an early hour of the next 
 morning. It has not been unusual for the 
 sitting to last from three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, until the same hour next morn- 
 ing, with the regular recess from six to 
 eight o'clock. /The attempt to crowd a vast 
 amount of worlc into seven or eight weeks 
 is necessarily a severe strain upon members, 
 and it would be well if the sessions were 
 longer, and the hours more reasonablerj. It 
 must be remembered that the members of 
 the government have not only departmental 
 work to attend to, but there are very impor- 
 tant duties to lie performed in Committees, 
 by Ministers and Members. The Commit- 
 tees on Public Accounts, Private Bills, and 
 Printing, for instance, have very laborious 
 work to attend to during the mornings, and 
 then there are always any number of special 
 Committees appointed op motion of mem- 
 bers during the session. ^Last session there 
 were such Committees sitting in connection 
 with matters relative to agriculture, the 
 Charlevoix election, the criminal law, the 
 financial depression of the country, official 
 reporting, salt interests, sanitary reform, 
 telegraphs, and the winter navigation of the 
 St. Lawrence] all of which consumed a great 
 deal of time and obtain^ a considerable 
 amount of useful information, which is to 
 be found in the appendices to the Journals 
 of the House. It is impossible to exagger- 
 ate the importance of the work that is done 
 in the Committees. Many members who 
 take but little part in the debates of the 
 House, and consequently obtain compara- 
 tively little share of public notoriety through 
 the press, give up a great deal of time and 
 
 'K^ffl 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION. 
 
 >«7 
 
 : attention to labours whose value to the 
 country and the House can only be fully 
 appreciated by those who have been initia- 
 ted into the mysteries of Committee work. 
 It necessarily takes a large staff to per- 
 form the official work of legislation. The 
 Chief Clerk, who sits atthe head of the table, 
 is appointed by the Crown, and is sworn 
 to make true entries, remembrances, and 
 journals of the things done and passed in 
 the House of Commons.' He keeps notes 
 of the proceedings, which are made up in 
 the shape of journals, where all the forms 
 are strictly carried out. ■ Mr. Patrick, the 
 present Chief, has just completed his fiftieth 
 year of official life, and has won his way to 
 his present responsible position through all 
 the gradations of office. J He is aided by 
 'H^ Ji. two Assistants, who sit on each side of him. 
 Then there is in the Department a large 
 number of officials who are kept constantly 
 ;upied during the session with the mul- 
 tifarious duties required of them. The 
 venerable Law Clerk, Mr. WicksteacI, has 
 also been between forty and fifty years in 
 official harness, and though now beyond 
 three score years and ten, is still able to 
 perform his laborious duties with the same 
 assiduity ^ and carefulness he did twenty 
 years agQ^/ The work of translation occu- 
 pies the time of several officials, and the 
 impossibility of attending to the numerous 
 Committees and other work consequent on 
 a session, renders the employment of *fgw 
 extra clerks necessary. The Sergeant- at- 
 Armshas charge of the messengers, servants, 
 post office, and furnishings of the Depart- 
 ment He attends the Speaker with the 
 mace on all public occasions, serves orders 
 on persons who are to appear at the bar, 
 takes into custody all persons who miscon- 
 r/^ duct themselves in the galleries or other 
 parts of the House, and performs other 
 duties of an important character, which are 
 prescribed by usage. The Librarian of Par- 
 liament is another officer whose duties 
 bring him dailv ijxto contact with members 
 of the House. 1^ The gentleman who now 
 fills the positt5n,"^r. Alpheus Todd, is the 
 author of an elaborate work on Parliament- 
 ary Government in England, and years of 
 
 close study of Parliamentary precedents and 
 usages have made him one Qf the first 
 authorities on all such subjects. 
 
 In its obedience to the CliatfTln 4te res- 
 pect for constitutional authority, /in the^ 
 patience and calmness of its deliberationS| ^ 
 the Canadian House of Commons is in no ~ 
 respect inferior to its illustrious prototype 
 in the parent state. The Speaker has always 
 the gratification of knowing that his orders 
 are respectfully heard, and that he has the 
 confidence of the House as long as he con- 
 tinues to observe that strict impartiality 
 which, it is acknowledged on all sides, the 
 first Commoners of Canada have never 
 failed to exhibit whilst presiding over the 
 debates and deliberations of the popular 
 branch. In the Commons of this country 
 the rules and practice of Parliament — lex 
 et consuetude Parliamenti — are observed as 
 closely as in the British House, and when- 
 ever our own rules and usages fail as a 
 guide, we fall back on those of the British 
 Parliament, where centuries of legisja^ion 
 have built up volumes of precedent^which 
 have been arranged and explained so admir- 
 ably in the invaluable work of Sir Erskine 
 May, now the Chief Clerk of the Commons 
 of England. / Some persons may find mys- 
 teries and even absurdities in the numerous 
 formalities which surround our legislation, 
 but no one who has studied ronstitutional 
 history will be ignorant of the fact that such 
 formalities are found absolutely neces 
 sary by the experience of the greatest delib- 
 erative body in the world. We have 
 already shown that Parliamentary rules are 
 particularly valuable in the direction of 
 careful deliberation olT all questions affect- 
 ing the public purse, but they also tend to 
 assist that slow and patient enquiry and 
 discussion which can best mature useful 
 legislation, and help to moderate the spirit 
 of faction and the play of personal animosi- 
 ties. / It is a proud thing to be able to say 
 that m this young country the deliberations 
 of our most important representative assem- 
 bly are conducted in that spirit of modera- 
 tion and anxious enquiry, which is the 
 distinguishing feature of the British Legis- 
 lature. 'I , r^ ^ I 
 
 —■*■ / J- G. BOURINOT.