Plenum

“ When the subject of discussion in a civil matter involves the examination of accounts, or by the absence of witnesses out of the kingdom, or by other reasons it happens that the Assizes cannot render justice, then the cause may be either commenced in the Court of the Pretor, or be brought there, and appeal shall be had from the Pretor to the Chancellor, and from the Chancellor to the Senate, whether upon the facts or upon the judgments rendered, as well upon the principle as upon the form, the whole in the manner which the legislature shall determine upon. ”

“ But in an assembly of the Roman people, a man holding a public office, a master of the horse, to whom it would have been disgraceful even to belch, vomiting filled his own bosom and the whole tribunal with fragments of what he had been eating reeking with wine. ”

“ It is not of so much importance whose or what set of rules is adopted, as that the assembly recognize and govern itself by some rule or system in conducting its business so that there may be uniformity of proceeding, decorum and regularity, and that the dignity of the body be preserved. ”

“ Look about, learn to know well-informed men who are truthful, and form of them an examining commission. When they begin to report, trust not over-much to papyrus, but verify here and there in person. I hear that Thou hast the eye of a leader; if that be true, one glance will tell thee how accurate the statements of the commission are. ”

“ The highest assembly of the commons we know of in this country is an assembly in which every measure, and every decision is subjected to free and impartial debate. In subordinate assemblies no man is precluded from delivering his sentiments with freedom upon every measure under their deliberation; and the man who speaks well, if he does not always meet with success, is sure never to miss of applause. ”

“ Conseil was my manservant. A devoted lad who went with me on all my journeys; a gallant Flemish boy whom I genuinely liked and who returned the compliment; a born stoic, punctilious on principle, habitually hardworking, rarely startled by life's surprises, very skillful with his hands, efficient in his every duty, and despite his having a name that means "counsel," never giving advice-- not even the unsolicited kind! ”

“ Before going a step farther let us get right as to what we mean by a commission form. The gentlemen state that they are standing for a concentration of all power in one small body. Honorable Judges, they are standing for something different. It is possible to concentrate all authority in one body and yet have the different functions performed by separately constituted bodies. ”

“ For seeing plenary power is that in which all things concur which are requisite for the production of an act, if the power shall never be plenary, there will always be wanting some of those things, without which the act cannot be produced. ”

“ While we are on the subject of misnomers, what say you to the wisdom of Parliament?
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Why, sir, I do not call that a misnomer. The term wisdom is used in a parliamentary sense. The wisdom of Parliament is a wisdom sui generis. It is not like any other wisdom. It is not the wisdom of Socrates, nor the wisdom of Solomon. It is the wisdom of Parliament. It is not easily analysed or defined; but it is very easily understood. It has achieved wonderful things by itself, and still more when Science has come to its aid. ”

“ If, as you write, each council has an irreversible force, and he who has given judgment on a matter is dishonoured, if his sentence is examined by others; consider, dearly beloved, who are they that dishonour councils? who are setting aside the decisions of former judges? ”

“ I inquired whether the order of Worthies was a numerous body, and was informed that it embraced a majority of the men of mature age; all of whom were called in turn according to the order of their admission, to fill a place in the ordinary council of the Best Man. This council consists of one hundred; fifty-five of whom must be of the Good, forty of the Useful, and five of the Wise. ”

“ And such a judgment, which is in the highest degree mischievous and injurious to our honour, can hardly be endured without damage and disgrace to this venerable assembly, an assembly which must act independently and not under pressure from without, which must not only be, but appear to be, free. ”

“ I would that ye might see this Council, which is called the Most Holy Council, and incapable of error; in sooth you would gaze on a scene of foulness; [4] for it is a common proverb among the Swiss, [5] that a generation will not suffice to cleanse Constance from the sins which the Council have committed in that city; they have said, moreover, that the Council was an offence to the world, albeit others rejected it with loathing at the mere sight of its foul deeds. ”

“ The Magister Equitum
Every dictator, no matter for what purpose appointed, [876] nominated as his delegate a master of the horse, [877] who, unlike other delegates, possessed the imperium, six fasces, [878] and a rank equal to the praetor. [879] These distinctions justify the assertion that he was a magistrate, [880] and apparently one of curule rank, even though his tenure of power was strictly dependent on that of his nominator. ”

“ VI. “At the End of every Session of Parliament, all the Public Acts are ingrossed into one great Roll by Bowyer, as Clerk of the Parliament; and the same Roll, being by him subscribed, he delivereth into the Chapel of the Rolls; which is thereupon there received, and placed among the Records of the Chancery, being the highest Record of the Kingdom, without any other Warrant than his Hand: Which Acts or Statutes so by him transcribed, do bind his Majesty’s Subjects of all Degrees for ever. ”

“ These nine men who form the commission shall swear on the holy relics that they will faithfully act as judges for rich and poor alike.
(10) If a war or quarrel arises between the lords and the cities who are in this peace, it shall be reported to the president and members of the commission. And both parties shall submit to the decision which the commission, or a majority of it, shall render in the case. If anyone refuses to submit to their decision, all the members of this league of peace shall aid the commission in enforcing it. ”

“ XI. All of which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted, and established by authority of this present parliament, and shall stand, remain, and be the law of this realm for ever; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted, or established accordingly. ”

“ He, by his diligence, so recommended the cause of the senate, thrown into disorder as it was by the harangues of wicked men, to the multitude, that your name soon became the most popular of all names, your authority the object of the greatest affection to all men. ”

“ Macgrigor: ‘My dear sir, you must know that such agents as I are invested by our Royal Master with a particular commission, consisting of some document delivered to us by his own hand. The commission delivered to a kelpie consists in a bridle invested with all those powers of transformation, information, and observation, necessary for our calling; and wherever we lose this commission, whether voluntarily or by accident, our power is at an end, and certain annihilation within four and twenty hours is the consequence. ”

“ XII, sect. 8 to be the involving or including the wills of many in the will of one man, or in the will of the greatest part of any one number of men, that is to say, in the will of one man, or of one COUNCIL; for a council is nothing else but an assembly of men deliberating concerning something common to them all. ”

“ We can imagine when the council rose, that the angel who watched over the youth of our republic, and who had trembled for the result, clapped his hands for joy, and that the exultant sound, taken up by messenger after messenger, passed from hierarch to hierarch, until all heaven rang with the acclaim. ”

“ A book of reference, wherein each motion or principle of parliamentary procedure is described in a form at once compact and reliable, is a want that has long been felt. To partially meet this want by giving a condensed and complete outline of the subject, and to aid those who are not well informed, and do not wish to spare the time necessary to consult the many larger works of the kind, are the objects of this volume. ”

“ Though the former description of the general and not the provincial Folkmote is our present business. And at first sight it looks like a full parliament, for it consists of the princes, as well bishops as magistrates, and the freemen; that is to say, the chiefs of the whole nation. And they are employed in parliament work, for they consult of the common safety, of peace, of war, and promoting the public profit. ”

“ The Chairman: Since a majority has voted in the affirmative the resolution is adopted, (or if it is a motion requiring a two-thirds vote) , since less than two-thirds have voted in the affirmative the motion is rejected.
157. Let us suppose some member has introduced a resolution, motion, report, or petition which some other member deems profitless, out of place, irrelevant to the object of the assembly, likely to create trouble or ill feeling, or for other reasons. ”

“ Now the senate and people have decreed to permit them to assemble together on the days formerly appointed, and to act according to their own laws; and that such a place be set apart for them by the praetors, for the building and inhabiting the same, as they shall esteem fit for that purpose; and that those that take care of the provision for the city, shall take care that such sorts of food as they esteem fit for their eating may be imported into the city."
25. The decree of the Ephesians. ”

“ Here, despite the advancing influence of the Senate of Four Hundred with its increasing executive and administrative powers, the old nobility retained the strongest outpost of authority in a court which, amidst other privileges, possessed the right of final decision in matters of life and death. ”

“ General councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. ”

“ So too the officers of the state derive their commission from the people, albeit the king, in conformity with law, decides the detail of their appoint ment, together with the other necessary arrangements of the executive government. Once establish the principle, and the consequences are easy to draw. ”

“ By explaining the reason for the rule, and by giving proper forms for presenting questions to the assembly, the author hopes to give the student information which will enable him to understand the basic principles of parliamentary law. While giving forms for stating the question, putting to vote and declaring the result, the author does not assert that said form are the best, but that they are good forms, which may be varied at the will of the chairman. ”

“ And I say to you, Charles, and to you, Frederick, Kings, and to you, ye other Princes and Tyrants, see who sits by the side of you in council, and count how many times a day this aim of human life is indicated to you by your councillors. ”

“ For if the sense of the assembly can be taken notice of, before the debate be ended, they should neither ask nor take any further counsel; for sense of the assembly is the resolution of the debate and end of all deliberation. ”

“ Experience has shown that there must be rules to govern an assembly, and that some one must be selected to act as presiding officer to enforce these rules, in order that after suitable deliberation the will of the majority may prevail. ”

“ A spectator at the law sessions of the Upper House is struck by the appearance of the Lord Chancellor on the woolsack, in wig and gown, listening to arguments, with two lay lords, like two lay figures, on the side benches, merely to constitute a quorum so as to legalize the decision of the Chancellor. ”

“ Again, in the old registers of the Parlement at this period, the first Olim books, we see the names of the same councillors recurring from session to session. This suggests that a sufficient numberof councillors was assured beforehand, and a list drawn up for each session; the vassals and prelates still figuring as a complementary body at the council. ”

“ We, as well as the ancients, have councils, senates, and assemblies of the people (by their representatives) whose deliberations and debates turn upon matters of as much moment, where oratory has fields as ample, in which it may exert all its various powers, and where the rewards and honours, attendant on eloquence are equal. ”

“ And when he shall have power, he will more fitly maintain them than I. And if this counsel be pleasing unto thee and to my nobles, it shall be, that, as thou hast reared him up to the present time, I will give him to be brought up by Pendaran Dyfed from henceforth. ”

“ But each council has the power, when a matter seems to it susceptible of a preparatory examination, to appoint from among its members a special commission, which confines itself exclusively to the matter that led to its formation. ”