PARLIAMENT 



electors than they would be if they were constantly 

 looking forward to an election. 



1 Omnipotence' of Parliament. In foreign coun- 

 tries and in the British colonies the legislature is a 

 limited body, which exercises the powers conferred 

 upon it by a written constitution ; its acts are void 

 if they exceed its powers. An act of the congress 

 of the United States, for example, may be set .iside 

 by a court of law if it is beyond the constitutional 

 competence of congress. No British court can set 

 aside an act of parliament on any such ground, for 



Idirliament defines its own powers and is not bound 

 iv any written constitution. In the words of Sir 

 Edward Coke, the power of parliament 'is so tran- 

 scendent and absolute that it cannot be confined, 

 either for causes or persons, within any bounds.' 

 The other legislative authorities of the empire act 

 within the limits laid down for them by parliament. 

 If a colonial government, for instance, wishes to 

 deal with some matter outside the colony, it must, 

 as a general rule, obtain an act of parliament for 

 the purpose ; a colonial legislature has an authority 

 which is plenary as to causes and persons, but 

 limited as to territorial area. The Septennial Act, 

 cited above, illustrates what is meant by the omni- 

 potence of parliament. A House of Commons, 

 elected for three years under the Act of 1694, con- 

 curred in prolonging its own mandate to a period 

 of seven years ; and its action was perfectly legal 

 and constitutional. Whether we should gain or 

 lse by bringing the powers of parliament within 

 legal bounds, it is not easy to decide. 



Petitions to Parliament. Petitions may be ad- 

 dressed to either House of Parliament by British 

 subjects and persons resident in the British domin- 

 ions ; a petition must be presented by a member of 

 the House to which it is addressed, except petitions 



ENGLAND. 



COOXTIES. 



Bedford, 2. 



Bibles wade. 



Lnton. 

 Berks, 3. 



Abingdon. 



Newbury. 



Wokini,'ham. 

 Buckingham, 3. 



Buckingham. 



Aylesbury. 



Wjviuube. 

 Cambridge, 3. 



Wisbech. 



Chesterton. 



Newmarket 

 Cheshire, 8. 



Wirr.il. 



Eddisbury. 



M.ifr (.-afield. 



Crewe. 



Northwlch. 



Altrincham. 



Hyde. 



Kiiutsford. 

 Cornwall, B. 



St Ives. 



Camborne. 



Truro. 



>' \ustell. 



Bodinin. 



Launeeston. 

 Cumberland, 4. 



Eskdale. 



Penrith. 



Cuckennouth. 



Eyremnnt. 

 Derby, 7. 



High Peak. 



North-east 



Chesterfield. 



West. 



MM. 



Ilkenton. 



South. 

 D<!von. 8. 



Honiton. 



Tivertou. 



from the corporation of London, which are presented 

 by the sheriffs of London at the bar. The Lord 

 Mayor of Dublin has also been allowed to present a 

 petition, and the same privilege would probably be 

 conceded to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. It was 

 formerly not unusual for the member presenting a 

 petition to make a speech, but the standing orders 

 of the Commons now forbid this to be done. There 

 is a committee on public petitions which reports 

 twice a week during the session. 



Parliamentary Returns. Each House may obtain 

 information from the executive departments by 

 asking for returns and papers. In dealing with a 

 subordinate department, or a department created 

 and regulated by statute, either House may order 

 returns ; if the department is that of a high officer 

 of state, or if the matter inquired of concerns the 

 sovereign's prerogative, it is usual to move a humble 

 address, praying^ that the documents required may 

 be furnislied. Neither House will order a return 

 regarding the proceedings of the other ; but the 

 members of one House have seldom any difficulty 

 in obtaining papers printed for the use of the other. 

 No return may lie ordered from private persons and 

 associations, unless under the provisions of an act of 

 parliament. Confidential documents (e.g. cabinet 

 memoranda, or opinions of the law officers of the 

 crown) are never laid on the table in either House, 

 unless for special reasons the government thinks it 

 desirable. 



Constituencies. The following table shows the 

 number of members sent to the House of Commons 

 by constituencies of the United Kingdom ; the 

 names of the electoral divisions of a county or 

 borough not being generally specified when they 

 are all simply taken from -the points of the com- 

 pass, north, north-east, central, &c. 



