Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/198

182 to ee that all neceary parties conent, and to ettle all points of technical propriety. This is read a firt time, and at a convenient ditance a econd time; and after each reading the peaker opens to the houe the ubtance of the bill, and puts the quetion, whether it hall proceed any farther. The introduction of the bill may be originally oppoed, as the bill itelf may at either of the readings; and, if the oppoition ucceeds, the bill mut be dropt for that eions; as it mut alo, if oppoed with ucces in any of the ubequent tages.

the econd reading it is committed, that is, referred to a committee; which is either elected by the houe in matters of mall importance, or ele, upon a bill of conequence, the houe reolves itelf into a committee of the whole houe. A committee of the whole houe is compoed of every member; and, to form it, the peaker quits the chair, (another member being appointed chairman) and may it and debate as a private member. In thee committees the bill is debated claue by claue, amendments made, the blanks filled up, and ometimes the bill entirely new modelled. After it has gone through the committee, the chairman reports it to the houe with uch amendments as the committee have made; and then the houe reconider the whole bill again, and the quetion is repeatedly put upon every claue and amendment. When the houe have agreed or diagreed to the amendments of the committee, and ometimes added new amendments of their own, the bill is then ordered to be engroed, or written in a trong gros hand, on one or more long rolls of parchment ewed together. When this is finihed, it is read a third time, and amendments are ometimes then made to it; and, if a new claue be added, it is done by tacking a eparate piece of parchment on the bill, which is called a ryder. The peaker then again opens the contents; and, holding it up in his hands, puts the quetion, whether the bill hall pas. If this is agreed to, the title to it is then ettled; which ued to be a general one for all the acts paed in the eion, till in the fifth year of Henry VIII ditinct