Essays on the History of Parliamentary Procedure: In Honour of Thomas Erskine May (Hart Studies in Constitutional Law)

8 February 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Erskine May. May is the most famous of the fifty holders of the office of Clerk of the House of Commons. His continued renown arises from his Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, first published in 1844 and with its 25th edition currently in preparation. It is known throughout those parts of the world that model their constitutional arrangements on Westminster as the ‘Bible of Parliamentary Procedure’. This volume celebrates both the man and his book. Bringing together current and former Clerks in the House of Commons and outside experts, the contributors analyse May’s profound contribution to the shaping of the modern House of Commons, as it made the transition from the pre-Reform Act House to the modern core of the UK’s constitutional democracy in his lifetime. This is perhaps best symbolised by its enforced transition between 1834 and 1851 from a mediaeval slum to the World Heritage Palace of Westminster, which is the most iconic building in the UK. The book also considers the wider context of parliamentary law and procedure, both before and after May’s time. It constitutes the first sustained analysis of the development of parliamentary procedure in over half a century, attempting to situate the reforms in the way the central institution of our democracy conducts itself in the political contexts which drove those changes. Volume 7 in the series Hart Studies in Constitutional Law Preface Contents Notes on Contributors Introduction: The Growth of Many Centuries Purpose Thomas Erskine May and the Treatise The Age of Precedent The Age of Codification After May Modernists and Methuselas Part I: The Man and his Milieu 1: A Sycophant of Real Ability: The Career of Thomas Erskine May 1850: Not the Fittest Man for the Post 1856: Clerk Assistant 1870: Clerk of the House May the Liberal 1886: Elevation and Demise Succession Afterword: May's origins 2: Slumber and Success: The House of Commons Library after May The Beginnings of the Commons Library 1831–1914 Slumber and Frustration: The Early Twentieth-Century Library Towards a Professional Service: The 1940s to the 1970s The House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978: A House Service The Library in the 1980s and 1990s Department of information Services: The 1990s to 2015 3: Magi or Mandarins?: Contemporary Clerkly Culture Clerks as a Professional Group Knowledge and Words: Magi of the Sacred Rules? Power and Innovation: Mandarins Managing Members? Clerking: Practical Judgement Misrecognised as Tradition Part II: The Book 4: Persuading the House: The Use of the Commons Journals as a Source of Precedent Introduction The 'Clerk's Book' and the Beginnings of the Commons Journal A Published Record of Proceedings: The Vote Summoning Precedents: The Indexing of the Journals The Journals after May's Treatise 5: Manuals before May: From the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Century Modus Hooker Hakewill Lambarde Elsynge Scobell Petyt 6: Parliamentary Law in the Eighteenth Century: From Commonplace to Treatise Unintelligible and Confused Stuff Commonplace Books Indexes Hatsell and Beyond The Treatise on Parliamentary Procedure 7: From Manual to Authority: The Life and Times of the Treatise Genesis Wisdom Chronicles Revelation 8: Controversy at the Antipodes (and Elsewhere): The International Cousins of the Treatise Introduction France: Romilly and Bentham Jefferson and the USA New Zealand House of Representatives The Canadian House of Commons The Australian House of Representatives Part III: Procedural Development 9: The Principle of Progress: May and Procedural Reform Introduction The 1847–48 Committee on Public Business and May's 1849 Pamphlet The Edinburgh Review 1854 Select Committee on the Business of the House 1854 Select Committee on the Business of the House 1861 Joint Committee on the Despatch of Business 1869 Select Committee on the Business of the House 1871 Select Committee on Public Business 1878 Disciplinary Rules 1877–78 May and the Development of Statute Law 10: May on Money: Supply Proceedings and the Functions of a Legislature Introduction Irresponsible Eagerness: Supply versus Representation Repulsive Labour: The Gladstonian Paradox and the Business of Supply May's Hollow Victory Conclusions 11: A History of the Standing Orders Introduction The House of Commons in 1832 Clearing the Ground (1833–55) The Government versus Private Members (1856–80) Collapse of the Old Procedure and Foundation of the New (1881–88) The Government Gain Control of the Time of the House (1889–1919) Tidying up (1920–35) Conclusion in 1935 Changes since 1935 Conclusion 12: Pursuing the Efficient Despatch of Business: The Role of Committees in Procedural Reform since 1900 Introduction Legislation and Sitting Hours Questions Financial Procedure The Development of Scrutiny Divisions Conclusion 13: Finding Time: Legislative Procedure since May Introduction Stirrings of Reform Private Members' Bills Committees on Public Bills Carry-over Allocation of Time and Programming Power of the Lords Delegated Legislation Making Legislative Processes more Transparent Part IV: Select Committees 14: Where Did It All Go Right: Developments in Select Committees, 1913–1960 Introduction The Doldrums 'Open' or 'Closed' Publishing Evidence Specialist Support Travel Staff Support Conclusion 15: A Road not Taken: Select Committees and the Estimates, 1880–1904 Introduction Select Committees and the Estimates Prior to 1880 Select Committees and 'the Champion of Economy', 1884-88 Committees and the Reform of Supply Proceedings, 1880-96 A Churchillian Revival, 1901–04 Conclusions Part V: The Lex Parliamentaria Revisited 16: Privilege: The Unfolding Debate with the Courts Introduction: Why privilege? May and Privilege The Debate The Beginnings: Stockdale v Hansard Parliamentary Privilege: The Commons Committees The 1967 and 1977 Committees Comity and Mutual Self-restraint The Two Joint Committees on Parliamentary Privilege Privilege Now Disciplinary Powers Comity and Impeaching and Questioning Conclusion 17: Is the Lex Parliamentaria Really Law?: The House of Commons as a Legal System Introduction A Legal System Differences from the Common Law Too Different to Count as a Legal System? Deficiency of Reasons and its Cures An Example Consequences Index Présentation de l'éditeur : "8 February 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Erskine May. May is the most famous of the fifty holders of the office of Clerk of the House of Commons. His continued renown arises from his Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, first published in 1844 and with its 25th edition currently in preparation. It is known throughout those parts of the world that model their constitutional arrangements on Westminster as the 'Bible of Parliamentary Procedure'. This volume celebrates both the man and his book. Bringing together current and former Clerks in the House of Commons and outside experts, the contributors analyse May's profound contribution to the shaping of the modern House of Commons, as it made the transition from the pre-Reform Act House to the modern core of the UK's constitutional democracy in his lifetime. This is perhaps best symbolised by its enforced transition between 1834 and 1851 from a mediaeval slum to the World Heritage Palace of Westminster, which is the most iconic building in the UK. The book also considers the wider context of parliamentary law and procedure, both before and after May's time. It constitutes the first sustained analysis of the development of parliamentary procedure in over half a century, attempting to situate the reforms in the way the central institution of our democracy conducts itself in the political contexts which drove those changes." The 8th of February 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of Thomas Erskine May's birth, the most famous holder of the office of the Clerk of the House of Commons. This volume celebrates that event. Bringing together current Clerks in the House of Commons and outside experts, the authors analyse May's profound contribution to the shaping of the modern House of Commons as it made the transition in his lifetime from the pre-Reform Act House to the modern core of the UK's constitutional democracy, symbolised perhaps from its enforced transition between 1834 and 1851 from a mediaeval slum to the World Heritage Palace of Westminster which is the most iconic building in the UK. It constitutes the first sustained analysis of the development of parliamentary procedure in over half a century, attempting to situate the reforms in the way the central institution of our democracy conducts itself in the political contexts which drove those changes.