house by the Lord Chancellor, and the debate on the address immediately commences; a similar course is pursued in the Commons, but in order to assert a right of refusing precedence to the matters contained in the royal speech, it has always been the practice, "for form sake," that some unopposed bill should be read a first time, previous to moving the address in answer to the speech from the throne. When the Sovereign does not attend in person, the session is opened by commissioners appointed under the great seal for that purpose; these commissioners are generally the great officers of state, and any three of them, including the Chancellor as one, are competent to execute the commission and open the parliament. The commissioners are always robed, but the rest of the house is not in state costume; they take their seats upon a bench immediately in front of the throne, and the Commons being summoned, the commission is read. No further difference is observed between this ceremonial and that followed in the actual presence of the Sovereign, except that the speech, instead of being handed to the Monarch, is read at once by the Lord Chancellor.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT. Prorogation is distinguished from adjournment by being an act of the Crown, and not of either house: it differs from dissolution by only closing the session, and not terminating the existence of the Parliament. The power of adjournment is inherent in each house respectively. but the exercise of this power in one house has no influence over the sittings of the other; thus the

adjournment of the Commons is no adjournment of the Lords, though a prorogation is an act equally affecting both, and not emanating from either. By a prorogation all unfinished proceedings are quashed, and must be re-commenced de novo, while during an adjournment they remain in statu quo. Prorogations may take place in three ways, namely,-first, it may be ordered in the presence of the Sovereign, through the Lord Chancellor; secondly, commissioners may, under the powers of a special commission, perform this act; or, thirdly, it may take place by writ under the great seal addressed to the Lords and Commons. The two former courses are those most usually followed. When the Sovereign comes in person, the same procession and ceremonies are observed in proceeding to the house of Lords as at the opening of Parliament, but the act of prorogation proceeds from the Lord Chancellor's mouth, and in the Sovereign's name he declares the parliament prorogued to a time which he then specifies. Eighty days is the longest period during which the Crown is in the habit of postponing the sittings of parlia ment by any single act of prorogation, because this is the time during which privilege of parliament continues to members; it therefore is the practice to repeat the ceremony from time to time during the recess, and on these occasions very few peers are present, while the house of Commons is seldom represented by more than the chief clerk and his assistants.

The performance of the act of prorogation by Commissioners, differs from that already detailed in no other respect than the absence of the Sove

reign; for the Lord Chancellor, in both cases, declares the royal pleasure. It is needless to observe, that the prorogations which lengthen the recess are always by commission, and never in person. The third form which remains to be noticed is, prorogation by writ under the Great Seal, addressed to the Lords and Commons; this was the practice when the members were sworn before the Lord Steward previous to the election of their Speaker; and it was an expedient adopted to allow them time for this choice before the Sovereign opened the Parliament; but as now the members elect their Speaker unsworn, no delay is occasioned, and prorogation by writ will therefore probably fall into disuse, for it was not commonly resorted to on any other occasion. Though the Sovereign fixes a time (short of eighty days) when the Parliament is to re-assemble, yet the Crown may, in the exercise of a royal prerogative, call them together before the expiration of that period by proclamation, giving fourteen days' notice of the time of meeting.

DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.-The dissolution of Parliament has been described as its "civil death;" but the derivation of the term itself, even more graphically pourtrays its meaning than this paraphrase; for it strictly signifies the destruction of that tie by which its constituent elements were held together, and the consequent release of its several members from those duties which, as a relic of ancient feelings and habits, we still call "serving in Parliament." A dissolution may take place in three ways; viz. by an exercise of the royal prerogative, by the lapse of

time, or by the demise of the Crown. It is not considered courteous towards the Parliament, for the Sovereign personally and immediately to dismiss it; and since the Revolution, the practice has therefore been followed of proroguing the Legislature first, and within a few days issuing a royal proclamation for its dissolution. This proclamation usually declares at the same time the summoning of a new Parliament *.

The following is the last proclamation issued for this purpose, and is here given as a specimen of the form these documents take when a Parliament is dissolved.

"VICTORIA, R.

"Whereas we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to dissolve this present Parliament, which stands prorogued to Tuesday, the 29th day of this instant June: We do for that end publish this our Royal proclamation, and do hereby dissolve the said Parliament accordingly; and the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the knights, citizens, and burgesses, and the commissioners for shires and burghs, of the House of Commons, are discharged from their meeting and attendance on the said Tuesday, the 29th day of this instant June: and We, being desirous and resolved, as soon as may be, to meet our people, and to have their advice in Parliament, do hereby make known to all our loving subjeets our Royal will and pleasure to call a new Parliament : and do hereby further declare, that, with the advice of our Privy Council, we have given order that our Chancellor of that part of our United Kingdom called Great Britain, and our Chancellor of Ireland, do, respectively, upon notice thereof, forthwith issue out writs in due form, and according to law, for calling a new Parliament; and we do hereby also, by this our Royal proclamation under our Great Seal of our United Kingdom, require writs forthwith to be issued accordingly by our said Chancellors respectively, for causing the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons who are to

Although the monarch can shorten the days of a Parliament, it is not within the royal prerogative to prolong its existence beyond a fixed period. By the first act of George I. Parliaments are fixed at seven years' duration, to be calculated from the day of meeting appointed in the summons, and the Sovereign cannot lengthen this period by any expedient. From the sixth year of William and Mary's reign, to the passing of the above-mentioned act, the Parliaments were triennially elected; but previous to 1694, no law limited their duration-and, as is well known, one continued in existence for eighteen years, in Charles II.'s reign. The demise of the Crown is the last cause which can terminate the existence of the Parliament; and in the article on that event, in the earlier portion of the volume, it will be seen, that formerly the Legislature was immediately dismissed by the demise of the Crown; that now the existing Parliament is empowered to sit for six months, unless sooner dissolved by the new monarch; that adjournment, prorogation, and dissolution, are annulled by the event, and instant re-assemblage rendered imperative for six months, unless, as before, the new Sovereign chooses earlier to terminate its existence.

ROYAL ASSENT.-In giving or withholding the

serve in the said Parliament, to be duly returned to, and give their attendance in, our said Parliament: which writs are to be returnable on Thursday, the 19th day of August next.

"Given at our Court at Buckingham Palace, this 23d day of June, in the year of our Lord 1841, and in the fifth year of our reign.

"God save the Queen."