The constituent parts of Parliament, as has been al ready remarked, are the King and the Three Estates (as they are denominated) of the realm, the lords spi ritual, the lords temporal, and the commons. The king and the lords spiritual and temporal sit in one house, which is called the House of Lords; and the represen tatives of the people in another, which is called the House of Commons. When parliament assembles at the beginning of a session, the king always meets them in person, or by commissioners appointed to represent him. Ile also has the power to prorogue or dissolve it. Besides these royal prerogatives, as they respect Par liament, the king possesses the privilege of rejecting any bill that may have passed both Houses, and conse quently preventing it from being enacted into a law.
The lords spiritual, as a constituent part of Parlia ment, consist of the two archbishops and 24 bishops of England, and four bishops of Ireland. The English archbishops and bishops sit in the Upper House, from their holding, or being supposed to hold, certain baro nies under the king.
The lords temporal consist of all the peers of the realm, in their several degrees of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. The duke is so styled from the Latin, Dux, a leader or general. The title of mar quis is derived from the Gothic, and signifies the com mander or guardian of a march or frontier. The titles of earl and baron arc also from the Gothic, and signify simply eminent men. Viscount is derived from the and signifies the lieutenant of the count or earl. The bishops are not, strictly speaking, peers of the realm, but only lords of Parliament. speaking, number of the lords temporal is indefinite, the king possessing the privilege of increasing them at his pleasure. Some sit in the Upper House by descent ; some by creation; the Scotch and Irish peers by election.
The House of Commons consists of knights, citizens, and burgesses, respectively chosen by counties, cities, and boroughs. The number of representatives sent to Parliament, For England, Wales, and the town of.Ber wick, is 513. The Scotch and Irish representatives in crease the number to 658 members. No person can vote for a knight of the shire, unless he possess a free hold estate of the annual value of 40s. Neither bene ficial leases for a term of years, nor copyhold estates, give the right of voting. A leasehold, however, vested in an individual for life, does. Every candidate for the representation of a county, must have a clear estate of freehold, or copyhold, of the value of 600/. per annum, unless he be the eldest son of a peer, or a person qua lified as a knight of the shire.
The citizens and burgesses in Parliament arc the re presentatives of the mercantile and trading interests, as the knights of the shire are of the landed property. Many boroughs, however, with no trade, and some with very few persons entitled to vote, return members to Parliament, while some of the most populous and flourishing places in England, as Manchester and Bir mingham, send no representatives. The right of Elec
tors in boroughs varies according to the charters, cus toms, and constitutions of the respective places. Every candidate to represent a city or borough, must possess a free estate, of freehold or copyhold, to the value of 300/. per annum, unless, as in the case of candidates for counties, he be the eldest son of a peer, or of a person qualified as a knight of the shire.
As soon as the Parliament is summoned, the lord chancellor sends his warrant to the clerk of the crown in Chancery, who then issues out writs to the sheriffs of every county, for the election of all members to serve for that county, and for every city and borough in it, which possesses the privilege of returninrmern bers to Parliament. But in case a vacancy for any place occur while parliament is sitting, the speaker of the House of Commons issues his warrant for the election of a new member. As soon as the place and time of election are fixed, all soldiers must be removed to the distance of two miles or more, and must not return till the poll is over. No lord of Parliament, or lord-lieute nant of a county, has any right to interfere at elec tions. When a poll is demanded, it must commence immediately, and be continued from day to day, for at least seven hours each day, till it be finished. The she riff, or returning officer, has the right of granting a scrutiny, if it be demanded. The persons returned are the sitting members, until the House of Commons, up on petition, shall adjudge the return to he illegal. All petitions against sitting members are referred to a select committee of 15 members of the House of Commons.
On the first day of the meeting of every new Parlia ment, the lord steward of his Majesty's household ad ministers the necessary and usual oath to the members present; and then executes a commission, empowering certain members to administer the same oath to others. Every member is obliged to attend his duty in the House, unless he can spew a sufficient excuse for his non-attendance ; if he do not, he is ordered into the cus tody of the serjeant-at•arms, which is attended with the expense to the party of about 51. a.day. No member can vacate his scat, unless he accept of an office tin der the crown. The office of stewards of the chiltern hundreds (from which neither honour nor profit are de rived) are generally accepted for that purpose. As soon as the seat in Parliament is thus vacated, these offices are resigned, and are then ready for any other mem bers, who wish to vacate their seats. Commissioners for prizes, agents for regiments, officers of the excise and customs, clerks of the treasury, &c. and every person who holds any office under the crown, created since 1705, or any pension during the pleasure of the king, or for any term of years, are ineligible to sit in Parliament.