§ PRINTED BY THE QUEEN'S PRINTER,
§ AND WHEREOF THE PRINTED COPIES MAY BE GIVEN IN EVIDENCE.
§ 1. AN Act to continue an Act for extending A the Time during which the Trustees of the late Sir Gilbert Stirling of Mansfield, Baronet, were authorized to purchase Lands to be entailed in the Terms declared by certain Trust Deeds executed by him; and for other Purposes.
§ 2. An Act for making Provision with respect to the Interests of Sir Henry Meux, Baronet, in the Business of the Horse Shoe Brewery.
§ 3. An Act to modify the Condition of Residence at Haverholme Priory contained in the Will of the late Sir Jenison William Gordon, Baronet, in so far as such Condition affects the present or any future Infant Tenant in Tail under the Limitations of the same Will.
§ 4. An Act for a Re-settlement of Estates devised by the Will of the Right Honourable Sir Arthur Ingram Aston deceased.
§ 5. An Act to amend "The Fife Estates Improvement Act, 1858;" to authorize the Exchange of the entailed Estate of Ardgye in the County of Elgin for the Lauds of Westerton in the same County, to be entailed in lieu thereof; and for other Purposes.
§ 6. An Act for enabling Agricultural Leases to be granted of the Estates called the Bolton Estates, entailed by an Act of the Twenty-seventh Tear of the Reign of His Majesty King Henry the Eighth; and for enabling, with the sanction of the Court of Chancery, the granting of Building and Mining and Improvement Leases, and for enabling the Partition and Sale of the same Estates.
§ 7. An Act for the better Management of the Estates annexed to the Earldom of Arundel; and for the Sale of certain Parts of the same Estates, and for other Purposes, the Short Title whereof is "The Arundel Estates Act, 1863."
§ 8. An Act for enlarging and extending the Powers given by "Wyndham's Estate Act, 1854," of or over divers Freehold, Copyhold, and Leasehold Estates devised by or subject to the Limitations of the Will of the Right Honourable George Obrien Earl of Egremont deceased.
§ The SESSIONAL INDEX to "HANSARD" having been carefully considered and re-arranged, some explanation of the objects sought, and of the facilities it is intended to offer, may be useful.
§ In the first place, however, the "TABLE OF CONTENTS," which precedes each volume, should be described.
§ These "CONTENTS" are a complete "Abstract" of all Public Business transacted by both Houses of Parliament.
§ The "Minutes," which stand first, are a brief record of each day's Proceedings, arranged by titles under each stage of progress—"First Reading," "Second Reading" "Committee," &c.;—those Bills which were forwarded without discussion are marked with a *.
§ [For practical purposes the "Minutes" are superseded by the "Index," in which the Progress of each Bill is succinctly given under one head.]
§ The debated Proceedings follow. In these every entry is made to accord with the corresponding entry in the LORDS' MINUTES or COMMONS' VOTES; but a large amount of valuable information not to be found in those records, but derived from the text of "HANSARD," is added or intercalated.
§ Every Motion is set out in its precise terms, according to the Notice or the entries in the Minutes or Votes. Every Amendment or Motion interposed between the original Question and the final decision, whether subject of entry on the Minutes or Votes or not, is given. The title of every Bill introduced is set out at length, with the names of the Peers or Members who had charge of the measure. All Motions and Amendments are set out at length. In Committee all Clauses debated, and some not discussed, are recorded. The "Breviates," which indicate the object of the Clauses, are given, and the Amendments proposed are set out in full.
§ The object of every Select Committee is given in the terms of the Motion; and if granted, the names of the Peers or Members nominated to serve on it.
§ The "CONTENTS" include, as among items of Public Business, "Questions and Answers," "Observations and Replies." It has been found impracticable to deal with these entries in any other mode than by referring to the text of "HANSARD." TO give the very words would be to reprint a large part of these volumes, and to attempt to give a summary appears to Mr. Hansard to be beyond his proper duties.
§ The "CONTENTS" of "HANSARD," as here arranged, are, in fact, that which has been so frequently desired, an "ABSTRACT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS."
§ The SESSIONAL INDEX has been compiled upon a system which has for its object these important considerations.
§ 1. That it shall afford ready Reference to the Public Business as formally recorded in the "JOURNALS" and "MINUTES" of the LORDS and the "JOURNALS" and "VOTES" of the COMMONS, and to the Spoken Proceedings in Parliament thereon as recorded in "HANSARD."
§ 2. That a Motion once brought before either House shall be followed out, in this Index, to the end; and that the entries, though necessarily in a brief form, shall give in substance the same information as the JOURNALS, MINUTES, or VOTES, and render it unnecessary to refer to those records for the stages, dates, amendments, divisions, &c.
§ 3. That unnecessary multiplicity of reference shall be avoided. Thus, the information sought being contained in the JOURNALS and VOTES of either House, and in the "Contents" and text of "HANSARD," and this Index being the instrument of search—
§ The Reader who desires simply to ascertain the introduction and course of a Motion—its origin and chronology—will find these particulars succinctly set forth in the Index itself, and need go no further. If, beside these particulars, he desires to know the precise terms of the Motion, of the Amendments, of the formal mode of raising the issues, and the official information, but does not require to refer to the debates on the subject, the Index will refer him to the "Contents" of the proper Volume by the dates given. In the "Contents" he will find, not only the information afforded by the official Minutes and Votes, but frequently much that it is not the practice to enter in those records (such as Committee work), but which is an important part of Parliamentary business. In the "Contents" he will find the formal course of all Public Business gathered into a small compass; and easy to follow out by the dates and pages given by the "Index."
§ 4. If, however, the Reader desires to learn, not only the formal course of a Public Motion, but the Argumentative and Reasoning part of Public Legislation, he must necessarily turn to the text of "HANSARD."
§ The two latter courses (the first requires no explanation) have been provided for in the following manner:—Wherever all the information that the "MINUTES," "VOTES," and "HANSARD," could afford is comprised in a single fact (as, for instance, that a Bill was read the second time on a certain day—that a Bill was considered in Committee and reported—that a Select Committee was appointed on one day and reported on another), the entries in this Index supply that information; it also contains the positive intimation by a * that the Bill or Motion was "read" or "agreed to" without debate; and to prevent the annoyance of a further search where nothing more is to be learnt, the "pages" are omitted.
§ It is obvious that every "Question and Answer" is a debate; the reference is therefore made direct to the page in "HANSARD" in which it is to be found.
§ Every Public Bill is to be found entered in the text of "HANSARD" under the date at which it was introduced; but as the full title is also set forth in the "Contents," which can be more readily referred to, the "date," and not the "page," is given in the Index. In like manner, in Committee those Clauses, and in Supply those Votes, which were agreed to without debate, have no paginal references, the information being already complete.
§ [Immediate reference from the Index to the "Contents" will be obtained by noting the "page" in the Index, and referring to the figures on the right hand of the "Contents."]
§ Unnecessary reference is further avoided by giving all the information in the Index wherever practicable. For example, in the case of a Select Committee, not only the date of appointment and nomination is given, but the order of reference, a list of the Members, and the date of the Report.
§ The entries under the head of "Mr. Speaker" have been cast into a distinct form. Instead of a mere entry of the title of the Question during which the necessity arose for Mr. Speaker's intervention, the particular object to which that intervention is directed is given. For example, the entry under the old form, "Education—The Revised Code—Question," would give no indication that Mr. Speaker's interference was to stop reference to Debates "in another place." The entry now stands "Debate—Reference to Debates 'in another place'—Education—The Revised Code—Question." By this course, the Law and Practice of Parliament as digested in Mr. May's valuable work, will always be entered up to the latest period.