shire, an assemblage in which every class and every interest had a place. And so it was intended to be by the great king who had the skill and courage to adapt the organisation of the county court to the requirements of the kingdom. As it was a just rule,' he says, 'that what concerns all should by all be approved, so it is very plain that we should meet common dangers by remedies in common.' of estate To this Parliament were summoned by special writ the Summons archbishops, bishops, and abbots, and to the writ of summons of clergy; of the two former was attached the praemunientes clause directing the attendance of the heads of cathedral chapters, of the archdeacons, and of proctors to represent the chapters and the parochial clergy. Special writs of summons were directed baronage; to seven earls and forty-one barons. And writs were ad- commons. dressed to the sheriffs bidding them cause to be elected two knights of each shire, two citizens of each city, two burgesses of each borough. Thus we get a representation of the three estates of the realm, the clergy, baronage, and commons, and their respective duties are defined in the writs which summon them. The clergy and baronage are summoned 'ad tractandum ordinandum et faciendum,' the commons 'ad faciendum quod tunc de communi concilio ordinabitur.' Parliament, then, was in its origin, and is still in law, a representative assembly of the three estates of the realm; for all three are still summoned to Parliament. But, in fact, the attendance of the clergy was always given The clergy drop out reluctantly; they preferred to meet in their provincial convocations: there they granted taxes for their own estate, and the kings, since they got what they wanted from these assemblies, ceased to press for the attendance of the clergy in Parliament. They attended the Parliament of 1322 by which from legislation, the sources of legislative power were defined, and yet they do not fall within the number of persons or bodies in whom that power was declared to reside. There is no evidence of their from taxation. Survival of early consti tution of Parliament. attendance from the end of the fourteenth century onward. In 1664 the mode of granting money by subsidies to meet the extraordinary needs of State was abandoned 1, and the clergy ceased to offer separate subsidies to the Crown. In 1663, for the last time, they granted separate subsidies; in 1664 the Act which imposes the taxation of the year includes the clergy, but saves their right to tax themselves 2; and henceforth no distinction is made in taxing clergy and laity, though the clergy are still summoned in the writs addressed to archbishops and bishops at the commencement of every Parliament. The change in the mode of taxing the clergy was not made with any general assent of Convocation; it was the result of an informal agreement between Archbishop Sheldon and Lord Chancellor Clarendon. The clergy acquired in return, by tacit consent, what they had not before enjoyed, the right to vote for knights of the shires, as freeholders, in respect of their glebes 3. It has been necessary to trace the change from the early councils of the magnates and tenants-in-chief to the full representation of the estates of the realm, because it is not easy to understand some parts of our Parliamentary constitution without reference to their history. The ancient council of the king passed into the House of Lords, and carried with it certain privileges and duties attributable to its earlier stage of existence. It is not as a representation of the baronage but as members of the magnum concilium that the Peers are the hereditary counsellors of the Crown, and in their judicial capacity form an ultimate court of appeal. It is because they were once members of the magnum concilium that the judges are now summoned to advise, though not to sit as Peers of Parliament. The clergy 1 See vol. ii. p. 317 (ed. 2). 2 15 Car. II, c. 10; 16 & 17 Car. II, c. 1. s. 36. See as to the right of the clergy to vote, Commons' Journals, 9th May, 1624, 3rd November, 1641; Hatsell Precedents, vol. ii. p. 10 and note. The right was questioned as late as 1696. See Commons' Journals, 15th December, 1696. are still summoned as an estate of the realm, though for centuries their summons has been a mere form. And the connection of the representation of the Commons with the county court and the organisation of the shire is still indicated by the part which the sheriff takes in county elections, while, down to the year 1872, such elections still took place in the county court, and the identity of the member and the powers conferred on him were testified by indentures to which the sheriff and the men of the county were parties. We have now glanced as briefly as may be at the historical beginnings of Parliament, so as to learn what a Parliament is. It is an assemblage of the three estates of the realm, which one of the estates persistently declines to attend. It consists, therefore, of the baronage and commons summoned by the Crown. §3. Objects of Summons. It will be best to consider next for what purposes Parliament Objects of is summoned, and in what manner. summons: middle The king, when he summoned a Parliament at the beginning in the of our Parliamentary history, had two distinct objects in view, ages; neither of which would have been adequately attained without a representation of the estates as complete as was possible at that time. He wanted money, and he wanted to ascertain money; that the nation was with him in matters of general policy. It was for this reason that the writs to the sheriffs desire that the representatives of the commons may have ample power, 'ita quod pro defectu hujusmodi potestatis negotium infectum non remaneat.' Labour would be thrown away if the representatives granted an aid which their constituents repudiated. It was for this reason, too, that the Commons were consulted opinion. on questions of general administration and of peace and war, though they endeavoured to adopt the position of critics and advisers without incurring the responsibilities of the executive, and wisely declined to advocate a policy which, if followed, At the present day: might involve pecuniary liabilities to themselves and their representatives 1. At the present time the Commons have entire control over the finances of the country; the revenues with which the Crown financial; can deal without the intervention of Parliament would hardly suffice to carry on the business of government for a single day. No doubt there is a considerable revenue derived from taxes which do not depend on Statutes annually enacted; but little of this revenue can be applied without the consent of Parliament. Parliament appropriates, in the course of every session, to the services for which it is required, the money which stands to the credit of Government at the Bank of England. legislative; And there is another necessity for the meeting of Parliament which is comparatively modern. The machinery of government has become infinitely complex: it requires to be renewed or remodelled by almost continuous legislation. Some Acts of Parliament are temporary, either because they are experimental, or because they confer powers on the executive which it is thought expedient for the legislature to control by annual enactment. Instances of the first of these kinds of legislation are the Ballot Act (1872) and the Employers' Liability Act (1880), of the second the Army (Annual) Act. Some Acts give power to executive departments to carry their provisions into effect by rules or orders which must first be laid upon the tables of the two Houses, and so submitted to the criticism of Parliament. And besides these, there are incessant demands upon Parliament for new legislation, to regulate trades, to confer powers upon public bodies or to impose checks upon the use of powers already conferred, to control the exercise of the rights of property or even of contract. Mediaeval legislation, where it was not simply declaratory of custom, was scanty, and, to judge from the preambles of statutes, timid and even apologetic. Modern legislation is restless, bold, and almost inquisitorial in its dealings with the daily concerns of life. 1 Stubbs, Const. Hist. iii. 603. But the Queen, when she calls a new Parliament, makes but, in form, deno mention of the financial or legislative duties which that liberative. Parliament is summoned to discharge. She calls it, 'being desirous and resolved as soon as may be to meet her people, and to have their advice in Parliament.' It is in fact for purposes of discussion primarily that Parliament is summoned. Its legislative activity has developed, since the form of the Royal Proclamation which calls it has become settled by custom. §4. Forms of Summons. The existence of Parliament in modern times is kept as nearly continuous as possible, and hence the dissolution of one Parliament and the calling of another are effected by the same Royal Proclamation issued by the Queen on the advice of the Privy Council under the Great Seal. The Proclamation discharges the existing Parliament from its duties of attendance, declares the desire of the Crown to have the advice of its people, and the royal will and pleasure to call a new Parliament. It further announces an Order addressed by the Crown in Council to the Chancellors of Great Britain and Ireland to issue the necessary writs, and states that this Proclamation is to be their authority for so doing. Council. Until recent times it was the practice for a warrant under the sign manual to be given by the Crown to the Chancellor to issue the necessary writs. This has ceased to be done: an Order in Order in Council is made directing that writs shall be issued, but, as a matter of fact, the Royal Proclamation is treated by the Crown Office in Chancery as the authority for the issue. These writs I will presently describe. It may be convenient to set out here the form of Proclamation above described and of the Order in Council following upon it: By the Queen. A PROCLAMATION FOR DISSOLVING THE PRESENT PARLIAMENT VICTORIA R.-Whereas We have thought fit, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, to dissolve this present Parliament, |