Motions by private independent member to proceed upon a particular members. motion on a government night would be liable to be overruled by the House; although, under ordinary circumstances, an engagement made by the leader of the House would be respected. Priority in Thus, in June 1863, Mr. Hennessey's arrangement with Lord Palmerston to debate a motion on the affairs of Poland on a government night was set aside by the House, and Lord Palmerston agreed to give him another day." V It is customary, in debates of the House, to allow speaking priority to members of the administration who wish to speak; and to permit the prime minister, or leader of the House, to have the last word." In all important debates, it is usual for the Speaker to give preference, alternately, to the known supporters and opponents of the question; x and it would be considered irregular to interfere with the Speaker's call in favour of any other member. When many members desire to address the House, an arrangement is sometimes made in the Commons, between the government and the opposition whippers-in,' and in the Lords, between the leaders of both sides of the House,-as to the order in which the Speaker shall name those who are to take part in the debate." 'It is a necessary consequence of our parliamentary constitution, and the mode in which business in this House must be carried on, that generally discussion must be confined to a few what are called leading members; yet there are questions which sometimes arise, like the one concerning the maintenance of the Established Church in Ireland, on which it is not fair that the discussion should be confined to those gentlemen only.' a But the speaker is not bound to any list of intending debaters, and never interferes with the right of anyone to address the House." Since 1830, the number of members who take an active part in debate has steadily increased. Thus, before the Reform Bill, the speaking and business of the House were in the hands of about 150 members. In 1841 there were 231 members who took part in its proceedings. In 1861 the number had gone up to 300; and in 1876 to 385 members. At the same time the sphere of legislation has widened, and now extends over a vastly more comprehensive area; so that it has become impossible for the House of Commons to overtake and properly dispose of the amount of public business which annually claims attention. d the Com In the House of Commons there are three govern- The Whipment whips, and two on behalf of the opposition. The pers-in, in principal whipper-in' on behalf of the government is mons. the parliamentary, or, as he used to be known, the patronage secretary of the Treasury, who is a very important personage. And he takes charge of the orders of the day in the absence of ministers in charge of particular Bills. He is usually one of the tellers in great political divisions, and it devolves upon him, under the direction of the leader of the House, to facilitate, by mutual understanding, the conduct of public business,' and the management of the House of Commons-a position which requires consummate knowledge of human nature, the most amiable flexibility, and complete self-control.' He is specially responsible for 'making a House,' and for preventing a 'count-out' at unseasonable times. f b Hans. D. v. 209, pp. 1032-1039. e Ib. v. 233, pp. 1553, 1676. Escott's Eng. v. 2, pp. 147–149. ⚫ Hans. D. v. 230, p. 1179. Disraeli's Ld. G. Bentinck, 4th ed. pp. 145, 314. Ritchie's Modern Statesmen (Treasury Whipper-in), VOL. II. 6 and Chambers' Jour. Dec. 26, 1868 D D In the Political of a As whipper-in,' the secretary is generally assisted by two of the junior lords of the treasury. These useful functionaries are expected to gather the greatest numbers of their own party into every division, and by persuasion, promises, explanations, and every available expedient, to bring their men from all quarters to the aid of the government upon any emergency. It is also their business to conciliate the discontented and doubtful amongst the ministerial supporters, and to keep everyone, as far as possible, in good humour The opposition, likewise, have their whippers-in, who perform similar services for their own party. They are usually gentlemen who have filled the like offices when their party was in power, or have been otherwise selected by the chiefs of the opposition for that purpose. 6 In the House of Lords, the postmaster-general and the master of the buckhounds have generally been the ministerial whippers-in,' and for the opposition, peers who have held, or expect to hold, similar offices are chosen. (d.) The necessity for unanimity and co-operation amongst Ministers of the Crown upon the basis of party. The influence which is rightfully exercised by minisunanimity ters of the crown in the Houses of Parliament depends, ministry. in the first instance, upon the degree of unity and of mutual co-operation they exhibit between themselves; and finally upon the amount of control they are able to exercise over the political party to which they belong.h We have now to consider the mode in which these vital elements of ministerial existence are exemplified. In tracing the origin and development of the rule which requires political unanimity amongst the ministers of the crown, we have seen that it has become an acknowledged principle that, so long as a minister conSee ante, vol. 1, p. 9. Private information from Sir Erskine May. tinues to form part of a government, he shares with his colleagues an equal responsibility for everything that is done or agreed upon by them. Except in the case of an of cabinet admitted open question,' it must be taken for granted ministers. that the whole cabinet have assented to the ministerial policy as officially transacted or propounded by any minister acting or speaking on their behalf. It is not therefore allowable for a cabinet minister to oppose the measures of government-to shrink from an unqualified responsibility in respect to the same-to refrain from assisting his colleagues in the advocacy of their particular measures in parliament - or to omit the performance of any administrative act which may be necessary to carry out a decision of the government-even though he may not have been a consenting party thereto,*—or, to withhold his support from the ministry when attacked by their political opponents. A minister who infringes any one of these rules is bound to tender. his immediate resignation of office. ministers, The responsibility of a minister who has no seat of other in the cabinet is less comprehensive, although in its degree no less complete. Such an one is required to render active assistance in sustaining the policy of the government; and in carrying out, intelligently and faithfully, the instructions given him by his political chief. But his individual responsibility ends here. If called upon to represent the department to which he belongs, in either House of Parliament, he does so, strictly speaking, as the organ and mouthpiece of his official superior. He cannot be held answerable for a See ante, p. 273; and see Mr. Gladstone's observation, quoted and endorsed by Earl Grey, that it is one of our first duties to decline to acquit any member of the cabinet of responsibility for the announced and declared policy of another.' Hans. D. v. 192, p. 2057; and see Ib. v. 196, p. 14; v. 227, pp. 90, 711. J Mr. Gladstone, in Hans. D. v. 168, p. 176; and see Ib. v. 166, p. 1388. Earl Grey, on the Jamaica debt, Ib. v. 168, pp. 276, 280; Mr. Gladstone, 1b. v. 217, p. 1268. Regarding differences of opinion between two or more administrative departments, see ante, p. 239. Open questions. policy in the framing of which he has had no share; although, upon questions of special importance, he should rather resign than become a party to decisions to which he entertained strong and insurmountable objections. Upon all ordinary questions, it is justly held to be the duty of a subordinate minister, after stating his opinion, to defer to the judgment of his chief. For his responsibility is that of a subordinate, not of a principal, and mainly consists in an accountability for the efficient discharge of the duties assigned to him, in subjection to the acknowledged authority of the head of his department.' But questions will sometimes arise which, in the opinion of leading members of a government, are of too doubtful, delicate, or complex a nature to admit either of agreement or compromise, and yet which require an immediate settlement. Upon such questions, cabinet ministers may agree to differ," and when brought before parliament they are treated as 'open questions' to be advocated or opposed by individual ministers at their discretion. It is impossible to define, beforehand, what questions may properly be accounted 'open' without detriment to the character of a ministry, or to its claims to the respect and confidence of Parliament. Since unanimity in the cabinet has become an acknowledged rule, such great questions as parliamentary reform, the ballot, the abolition of the slave trade, Roman Catholic emancipation, free trade, hours of labour in factories, marriage with a deceased wife's sister, women's disabilities, household franchise in counties, and the Public Worship Regulation Bill, with other minor matters, have severally been Hans. D. v. 126, p. 883. Earl m See discussion in cabinet as to propriety of considering mode of dealing with disfranchised boroughs of Penryn and East Retford as an open question. Bulwer's Life of Palmerston, v. 1, pp. 253-258. |