The Procedure of the House of Commons; A Study of Its History and Present Form Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ... PART II The Arrangements of the Building and the Recording of Proceedings CHAPTER I The Meeting Place And Arrangement Of Seats IN order fully to understand the procedure of the House of Commons it is necessary to learn the physical conditions under which its proceedings take place, and, above all, to form a picture of the arena, the place of assembly of the Commons. The edifice in which Parliament meets--the gigantic Palace of Westminster--is reared upon the spot, between the River Thames and Westminster Abbey, where, till the great fire of 1834, had stood the old royal palace of Westminster. The congeries of buildings, some of them very ancient, which went under that name included the S. Stephen's Chapel, where, from 1547, the deliberations of the Commons had regularly been held.1 The Commons' chamber in the new parliamentary palace was not built in accordance with the original plans of the architect, S1r Charles Barry, but was reduced to the same small dimensions as those which the old assembly room had possessed. This was done of set purpose: the greatest anxiety was shown to adopt such measurements for the hall as would preserve in every detail the historic tradition of the House of Commons. Above all, it was desired to avoid any such material enlargement of the chamber as would cause a modification in the traditional method of speaking, or put a premium on loud-voiced oratory. Thus the character of an assembly confined within narrow limits of space was preserved, and the resulting style of parliamentary speaking and debate, with its absence of demand for great vocal exertion, was likewise retained. To gain this end it was necessary to cut down the floor space of the House to an area insufficient to accommodate half the total number...