Parliament

PARLIAMENT, the name given to the supreme legislature of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (For the old French parlement, see PARLEMENT ; and for analogous foreign assemblies see the articles on the respective countries.) The word is found in English from the 13th century, first for a debate, then for a formal conference, and for the great councils of the Plantagenet kings and the modern sense has come to be applied retrospectively. William the Conqueror is said in the Chronicle to have had "very deep speech with his Witan"; this "deep speech" (in Latin colloquium, in French parlement) was the distinguish ing feature of a meeting between king and people, and thus gave its name to the national assembly itself. The Statute of West minster (1275) first uses "parlement" of the great council in England.

The British parliament consists of the king (or queen regnant), the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the Commons; and it meets in two houses, the House of Lords (the Upper or Second chamber) and the House of Commons.

The Crown, pre-eminent in rank and dignity, is the legal source of parliamentary authority. The sovereign virtually appoints the lords spiritual, and all the peerages of the lords temporal have been created by the Crown. The king summons parliament to meet, and prescribes the time and place of its meeting, prorogues and dissolves it, and commands the issue of writs for the election of members of the House of Commons. By several statutes, begin ning with the 4 Edward III. c. 14, the annual meeting of parlia ment had been ordained; but these statutes, continually disre garded, were virtually repealed in the reigns of Charles II. and William and Mary (16 Ch. II. 31; 6 and 7 Will. and Mary, 32). The present statute law merely exacts the meeting of parliament once in three years; but the annual voting of supplies has long since superseded obsolete statutes. When parliament is assembled it cannot proceed to business until the king has declared the causes of summons, in person or by commission ; and though the veto of the Crown on legislation has long been obsolete, bills passed by the two houses only become law on receiving the royal assent.

The House of Lords is distinguished by peculiar dignities, priv ileges and jurisdictions. Peers individually enjoy the rank and precedence of their several dignities, and are hereditary council lors of the Crown. Collectively with the lords spiritual they form a permanent council of the Crown; and, when assembled in parlia ment, they form the highest court of judicature in the realm, and were, until the Parliament Act of 1911, a co-equal branch of the legislature, without whose consent no laws could be made. Their judicature is of various kinds, viz., for the trial of peers; for de termining claims of peerage and offices of honour, under references from the Crown; for the trial of controverted elections of Scotch and Irish peers; for the final determination of appeals from courts in England and Scotland ; and lastly, for the trial of impeachments.

The House of Commons also has its own peculiar privileges and jurisdictions. Above all, it has the paramount right of originating the imposition of all taxes, and the granting of supplies for the service of the State. It has also enjoyed, from early times, the right of determining all matters concerning the election of its own members, and their right to sit and vote in parliament. This right, however, has been greatly abridged, as, in 1868, the trial of controverted elections was transferred to the courts of law ; but its jurisdiction in matters of election, not otherwise provided for by statute, is still retained intact. As part of this jurisdiction the house directs the Speaker to issue warrants to the clerk of the Crown to make out new writs for the election of members to fill up such vacancies as occur during the sitting of parliament.

Privileges of Parliament.

Both houses are in the enjoyment of certain privileges, designed to maintain their authority, inde pendence and dignity. These privileges are founded mainly upon the law and custom of parliament, while some have been con firmed, and others abridged or abrogated by statute. The Lords rely entirely upon their inherent right, as having "a place and voice in parliament"; but, by a custom dating from the 6th Henry VIII., the Commons lay claim, by humble petition to the Crown at the commencement of every parliament, "to their ancient and un doubted rights and privileges." Each house has its separate rights and jurisdictions; but privileges properly so-called, being founded upon the law and custom of parliament, are common to both houses. Each house adjudges whether any breach of privilege has been committed, and punishes offenders by censure or com mitment. This right of commitment is incontestably established, and it extends to the protection of officers of the house, lawfully and properly executing its orders, who are also empowered to call in the assistance of the civil power. The causes of such commit ments cannot be enquired into by courts of law, unless it be mani fest that the cause of commitment is other than for contempt (Lord Ellenborough in Burdett v. Abbott, 1811, 14 East at p. 15o), nor can prisoners be admitted to bail. Breaches of privilege may be summarized as disobedience to any orders or rules of the house, indignities offered to its character or proceedings, assaults, insults or libels upon members, or interference with officers of the house in discharge of their duty, or tampering with witnesses. Such of fences are dealt with as contempts, according to the circumstances of the respective cases, of which numerous precedents are to be found in the journals of both houses. The Lords may imprison for a fixed period, and impose fines; the Commons can only im prison generally, the commitment being concluded by the proroga tion, and have long discontinued the imposition of fines.