“ Where the majority of the party in power is not large it is very necessary that there should always be at hand a sufficient number of its supporters to make up a majority, and without the assistance of the whips it would be impossible to secure this. The chief whip of the government holds the office of patronage secretary to the treasury, so called because when offices were freely distributed to secure the support of members, it was his chief duty to dispose of the patronage to the best advantage of his party. ”

“ The chief whips of either party arrange in consultation with each other the leading speakers in an important debate, and also its length, and give the list of speakers to the speaker or chairman, who usually falls in with the arrangement. They take no part in debate themselves, but are constantly present in the House during its sittings, keeping a finger, as it were, upon the pulse of the House, and constantly informing their leader as to the state of the House. When any division is regarded as a strictly party one, the whips act as tellers in the division. ”