At the committee stage a bill is gone through clause by clause, and amendments are pro posed, discussed, and, if agreed to, made in the bill. When the consideration of a bill in com mittee is concluded, it is reported to the House, •with or without amendments, as the case may be. On consideration of the report, there is an opportunity for making further amendments.
The next stage is the third reading. In the House of Commons this is the final stage, and only verbal amendments can he proposed. In the House of Lords substantial amendments can be moved at this stage, and also on the subsequent question, not put in the House of Commons ''that this bill do When a bill has been passed by either House it is sent by message to the other House to pass through its several stages there. If the second House amends a bill thus sent to it, it requests the concurrence of the originating House in the amendments. Should the two Houses differ, amendments and counter amend ments pass to and fro until an agreement is arrived at. Until the Parliament Act of 1911, if no agreement could be arranged, the bill dropped. If a public bill was not either passed or withdrawn in the course of a session, it lapsed at the end of that session.
The Parliament Act, however, introduced some profound modifications in constitutional procedure and parliamentary practice. These changes are explained in the next article.
The final stage of a bill is the royal assent, which is given, by commission, in the House of Lords, in the presence of representatives of both Houses. As the king can only act on the advice of his Ministers, who presumably come wand a majority in one of the two Houses, the royal assent to a bill is now given as a matter of course. The last instance of refusal was in the reign of Queen Anne.
A distinction is drawn between public bills, the object of which is to alter the general law,' and private bills, the object of which is to the law relating to some particular locality, or to confer rights on or relieve from liability some particular person or body of persons. The procedure on private bills differs materi ally from that on public bills, and is governed by a different set of standing orders.
Every private bill goes, after second read ing, to a small committee, before whom, if the bill is opposed, witnesses are called and counsel heard. The proceedings before these com mittees are quasi-judicial in their natnre. Many things which used to be done by private bills, are now done by provisional orders, which are made by a public department, after local enquiry, and when made, are confirmed by provisional order confirmation bills, to which they are scheduled. Sometimes, to prevent hardships, the proceedings on a private bill are continued, by special order, to another session.
The right of granting money in Parliament belongs exclusively to the House of Commons. The House of Lords assents to, and could re ject, a grant of money, but cannot initiate or liter a grant. The Parliament Act (q.v.) de
prived the Lords of all powers to interfere with money bills.
The right of the House of Commons to grant or raise money is subject to two import ant restrictions. It cannot vote money except in pursuance of a request from the Crown. It cannot impose or increase a tax unless the tax or its increase is declared by the constitutional advisers of the Crown to be necessary for the public service.
The demand by the Crown for the grant of money for the service of each financial year is made in the speech from the throne at the be ginning of each session. As soon as practicable afterward estimates are presented to the House showing the amount which will be required for the public service. Supplementary financial estimates•for the current financial year are also, if necessary, presented. The ordinary annual estimates are presented in three parts or divi sions, each comprising one of the three branches of the public service, namely, the navy, the army and the civil service. Each estimate con tains first. an estimate of the total grant thereby demanded, and, then, a statement of the detailed expenditure under each grant, divided into sub heads or items. For the purpose of considering these estimates, and voting the money ren.uired. the House resolves itself, at the beginning of each session, into a committee of the whole House, which is called the committee of supply. Not less than 20 days must be allotted in each session for the sittings of this committee. Votes which have not been previously considered and disposed of by the committee are passed en bloc at the end of the session. When the resolutions for the votes have been passed by the committee they are reported to and confirmed (technically °agreed to") by resolution of the House. Reso lutions authorizing the grant, out of the consoli dated fund of the money required to make good the supply voted in committee of supply, are passed by another committee of the whole House, called the committee of ways and means, and are also confirmed by resolutions of the House. And these resolutions are finally con firmed by one or more Acts of Parliament called Consolidated Fund Acts, and by the annual Ap propriation Act which is passed when the supply for the year has been disposed of. Before the end of each financial year a vote on account is always necessary to supply the current expenses of the civil service during the next financial year, and, for a similar reason, a sufficient amount of money must also be voted for the navy and army, in whose case there is greater facility for transferring money provisionally from one vote to another. A Consolidated Fund Act confirming these votes must also be passed before the end of the financial year, i.e., before March 31. It follows from the principles laid down above, that the committee of supply and the House can reduce, but cannot increase, a grant asked for by the estimates. Nor can they alter its destination.