the Rules or any of them, and those Rules shall, thereafter be void, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder. But as on account of other preoccupations of Parliament this procedure may often degenerate into a lifeless formality rules of special significance have to follow a procedure more elaborate. They are to be laid in draft before both Houses of Parliament and in such cases the rules shall not be made unless both Houses shall by resolution approve the draft either without modification or addition, or with modifications or additions to which both Houses agree. But upon such approval being given, the rules may be made in the form on which they have been approved, and such rules on being so made shall be of full force and effect and shall not require to be further laid before Parliament. The Secretary of State will decide which rules should follow the first course and which the second course and he will be guided in his decision by the advice of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament. So far as the present Rules are concerned, the Joint Committee gave their general certificate of approval of them by desiring to record their considered opinion that the Rules, with a few alterations, are an accurate but at the same time a liberal interpretation both of the general recommendations contained in their Report and of the intentions of Parliament in framing the Act. The Joint Committee further expressly lay down that the Franchise as settled by the Rules made under the Act should not be altered for the first ten years, and that it should at present be outside the power of the Legislative Councils to make any alterations in the Franchise. The recommendation, therefore, in respect of woman suffrage is to be regarded as altogether exceptional, and not forming a precedent in respect of proposals for other recommendations. Presidency of the Council. 122. Along with the composition and duration of the Councils their presidency also has been regulated by the Act itself. In the old Councils, the Head of the Administration i. e. the Governor or Lt-Governor was the President. He had the sole power of summoning, adjourning, proroguing and dissolving the Council. The Rules of business and procedure were framed either by the Governor-General in Council or the Governor-in-Council, and he had an unlimited latitude in their application. Thus the putting of questions, the moving of Resolutions, and the discussion of the budget, depended upon his ruling. It is obvious that his double position as the Head of the Administration and President of the Council, was unfair to the popular representatives. Questions or Resolutions criticising or condemning, or in any way inconvenient to him as the Head of the executive he could disallow or burke as the President of the Council. It would be interesting to study the proceedings of any Council-what questions were disallowed-a veritable massacre of the innocents-and what were disposed of in the same way. The President of the Council properly speaking ought to occupy the position and possess the dignity of the Speaker of the House of Commons. His action ought to be beyond cavil or criticism. The Speaker of the House neither votes nor speaks, and keeps himself aloof from all political controversy both outside as well as inside the House. The new Councils are an approximation to this position. Section 9 provides for an independent President,. appointed for the first 4 years by the Governor, but thereafter a member of the Council elected by the Council and approved by the Governor. Again, the Governor is not to be a member of the Legislative Council but is to have the right of addressing the Council and may for that purpose require the attendance of its members. This is analogous to the position of the American President. The powers and functions of the President and Deputy President are fully set out in Section 9 of the Act. The latter is to be, from the beginning, a member of the Council elected by the Council and approved by the Governor. The elected President and the Deputy President cease to hold office on ceasing to be members of the Council. They may resign office by writing under their hands addressed to the Governor, and may be removed from office by a vote of the Council with the concurrence of the Governor. The Government of India originally proposed to reserve certain functions in the Legislative Council to the Governor and not to the President. These functions were -the appointment of the temporary Chairman, the disallowing of questions, and consenting to a motion for adjournment. But in transferring these functions to the President, the Joint Committee rightly observed that it was desirable that the Governor's intervention in the proceedings of his Legislative Council should be confined to cases in which control by the executive (which for these purposes the Governor must be present) is essential, having regard to the fact that the Government will not command a majority in any Council, or to cases in which the President will not be in a position to give the requisite ruling. In all other cases the last word should lie with the President. But in the case of a motion to adjourn, if the Governor is of opinion that the proposed discussion cannot take place without detriment to public interest, and he is warned betimes, he can disallow that motion even if it has received the consent of the President. Advantages of an elected president. 123. The advantages of having an independent President-one not amenable to the influence of the executive-are clear. As the Joint Committee said "they attach the greatest importance to this question of the Presidency of the Council. It will, in their opinion, conduce very largely to the successful working of the new Councils if they are imbued from the commencement with the spirit and conventions of Parliamentary procedure as developed in the Imperial Parliament." But this hope of the Joint Committee could not be fulfilled in practice. The Government of India and the Local Governments represented to it that there were great practical difficulties in carrying out this suggestion, and their opinion has been allowed to prevail. Most of the Presidents of the provincial Councils are Indians of distinguished legal attainments. Nor is this arrangement without advantage to the Governor. His new role as an impartial mediator between the two halves of government, his personal responsibility for the tranquility of his province, and his approximation to the position of a mere constitutional head of the administration, require that the heat and stress of the Council should not be deflected upon him, and thus in no way compromise his dignity, authority, and position. The Council also, finally, from the greater freedom and fearlessness of the discussions and interpillations, will be a healthier and more effective check upon the vagaries of the executive. 124. In addition to rules, there are Standing Orders for the conduct of business in the Council. Sub-Section 6 of Section II provides that "Standing Orders may be made providing for theconduct of business and the procedure to Standing Or ders. be followed in the Council in so far as these matters are not provided for by rules made under the Principal Act." But though the Standing Orders in the first instance are to be made by the Governor-General in Council with the approval of the Secretary of State the Act provides, that they may be subsequently altered by the Local Legislature. For the Amendment of Standing orders 10 days' notice. with a draft of the proposed amendment must be given. And if more than 30 members are in favour, leave will be given for moving it. If the member has the leave of the Council to proceed, the draft amendment is referred to a Select Committee of 10 including the President, the Deputy President, and one of the four chairmen, the remaining 7 being selected by the single transferable vote. Some of the more important of the Standing Orders will be referred to in the next Chapter which deals with the Functions of the Council. CHAPTER VI. The Legislative Council in Action. 125. Having described the constitution of the Councils, let us next proceed to give a picture of their actual working. This has been regularised by A General view of Council Procedure. rules made under the Act, and by Standing Orders. The time and place of the session of the Council are appointed by the Governor by a notification. At the beginning of a new Council it elects by ballot. one of its members as Deputy President and at the commencement of each session the President nominates from amongst the members of the Council a panel of not more |