standing rules and orders of the legislative council of grenada and its dependencies

Standing rules and orders of the Legislative Council of Grenada and its dependencies.Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection, (1877)Published by: The University of Manchester, The John Rylands University LibraryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/60232646 .

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STANDING RULES

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AND ORDEBS

OF

^TIE LEGISLATIVE COUICIL

OF

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GRENADA

AND ITS DEPENDENCIES

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-V- STANDING RULES AND ORDERS

OF THE

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1. If any Member of our Legislative Council shall hereafter absent himself Absence o£ Leg"- from the Island in respect of which he is a Legislative Councillor, and continue lat*TB

C°t"°° ofora absent above the space of six months together without leave from the Gover- ttejr geatfli nor or the Officer Administering the Government of our said island for the time being first obtained under his hand and seal, or shall remain absent above the space of one year without leave given to him by us, his place in our said Le¬ gislative Council shall immediately thereupon become void ; and that if any such member,, residing within om' said Islands, shall hereafter absent himself when duly summoned, without sufficient cause, and shall persist in such ab¬ sence after being thereof admonished hj our said Governor, he is to suspend the s,iid Legislative Councillor so absenting himself until our further will and •pleasure therein be known, giving immmediate notice thereof to Us, through one of our princip il Secretaries of State.

2 No question shall be proposed for debate without notice having been Votice of subject ,-, 1 f rj.1. n -l tor debate re-

giveu ot th(j same at a previous meeting of the Council. Quired 3 Unless with the consent of the Governor or presiding member, notice Two days notice

•in writing of the intention of putting any question not involving a debate of putting a fiuea. •must he given at least two whole days previous to the meeting of any Coua- a re3uir8 cil to the Clerk of the Council, the question intended to be put being speci- •fijally stated, and the notice being signed by the member giving it and in¬ tending to put such question.

4. Nobillor draftof aproposedOrdinanceshall be introduced into this Coun- Procedure with .cil until leave shall first be given for the introduction thereof. The question re8arcl to Bllle*

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(2)

of left ve may be debited, and if leave be given the Bill may be introduced im me¬ diately or at any time during the same session, and when so introduced it n.ay tken be read a first time without question or debate. Such Bill may then hi: printed and notice shall be given that the second reading thereof will be moved for some future meeting of the Council. When the question of the second read¬ ing comes on, the measure may then be debated, and if the Bill be then read a second tine, it shall either be referred to a select committee, or the Councjl shall at a time to be agreed upon, resolve itself into a committee of the whole Council as may be thought advisable.

(a) The select committee, of whom the member who introduced the bill shall be one, and shall be the chairman thereof, shall be nominated by the President, and shall consist of not less than two and not more than four mem¬ bers. The duty of the select committee shall be to consider the bill carefully and minutely, and to consider all petitions that may be submitted to the Coun¬ cil concerning it, and to propose any amendments in I he bill they may think advisable, and to report upon it, with their opinions and recommendations in detail. The report of the select committee when agreed upon shall be laid before the Council at a meeting, and shall be distributed amongst the mem¬ bers, with, all petitions received legarding the bill, such of these as the com¬ mittee may think necessary being also distributed to the Council ; and, there¬ after, upon notice of no less than one week being given, it may be moved that the Council do go into committee of the whole Council upon the Bill, whe¬ ther as read a second time or as proposed by the select committee to be amended as may be then resolved.

(6) In the committee of the whole Council the bill ^hall be read, discuss¬ ed, and if so resolved, amended clause by clause, taking the clauses in order, and afterwards the schedules in order (if any), the pi i amble, and lastly the title.

(c) After the bill has passed through the committee, it may be printed as amended in committee, or not, as may be resolved ; but before any bill shall be read a third time, it shall be engrossed and the engrossment ex imined with the several amendments (if any) by the member having charge of the bill, and the clerk of theLegislative Council, andtheclerk shall certifyto the Governor or presiding member in Council that such examination has been mmfe and tint the engrossed bill has been found coivect, and it may be thereupon moved in Council, upon notice having bean given at a previous meeting of ihe Council, that the bill be read a third time and passed. At this stage, with the per¬ mission-of the Governor or presiding member, amendments for the correction of errors or oversights may be made, before the motion for the third reading and passing ot the bill is put from the chair : but not amendments .iffecting the principles that have been already determined. Upon this j oint the Governor or presiding member's judgment shall be conclusive.

(d) If the bill as engrossed be read a third time and passed, it shall b* submitted by the clerk to the Lieut.-Goveruor for his assent.

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(''} If the motion of the second reading or the motion for going into com¬ mittee of the whole Conned, or the motion for the third reading and passing of the bill be not carried, the bill is thrown out.

(/) When a bill is ordered to be read and passed, the clerk of the Council ih ill ' j.id the title of the bill, when the bill shall be considered as read.

9 Petitions v\ liaise 1 to the Council may be addressed to the clerk of the Petition*. Council, or they may be presented by any member of the Council. No peti¬ tion shall be received which is not properly and respectfully worded. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the Council, or the member presanting a petition, to inform the Council if there be any doubt as to a petition coming under this prohibition.

(a) Petitions not coming within this prohibition shall be received as of course without question.

(b) Petitions relating to any bills before a select committee shall be referred by the clerk on receipt to the select committee, by whom they will be pre¬ sented to the Council with their leport. Other petitions after being received, if it be so resolved, may be read, or may be printed, or may be referred tw a select committee for their consideration and report.

6. Whenover a select committee is appointed for any purpose, the mem- Seleot Commit- ber first named shall be chairman thereof, and shall have in such a committee tee?* an original vote and a casting vote if the votes shall be equally divided.

(") Select committees shall have a right to the services of the clerk of the Council.

(b) Select committees shall not be dissolved by a prorogation of a Session, and they may continue to transact business when the Council is not in ses- mon. Select committees shall be dissolved upon the presentation to the Council of their report upon the matter committed to them.

7. Due decorum must be observed in debate; when making any motion Debates, or speaking, members shall stand in their places and shall address the chair.

(a) Except when the Council is in committee, no member shall speak twice in the same debate. Provided, that a member who has made a motion shall be allowed to close the debate by a reply. Members shall not in debate mention other members by name, and in speaking they shall speak to the question before the Council at the time, and to no other question.

(b) A member must not read his speech, but he may read extracts frem written or printed papers in support of his argument.

(c) It shall be the duty of the Governor or presiding member on his own authority, to enforce all these rules ; and when the Governor or presiding member rises any member speaking shall immediately resume his seat.

8. When .the Council resolves itself into a committee of the whole Committers of tk» Council, the Governor or presiding member shall leave his chair, and shall whole Council, take his seat at the table. When the business of the committee is concluded,



Or when it be resolved in committee that the business of the committee shall be adjourned to another da}-, the Governor or piesiding member shall leturn to his chair and the Council shall resume.

(a) The proceedings in ommittee of the whole Council not being argu¬ ments but decision at wh'ch it arrives,— that is to say, its votes, resolutions, addresses, orders, reports, divisions, and all other proceedings in which it may be engaged, shall be recorded in the minute book of the Council as part \ of the day's proceedings, mid it shall not be necessary to report to the Council what has been done in committee of the whole Council.

~i- Method of taking 9 When the Governor or presiding member puts a question to theCoun- 0 es'

cil, the votes may be taken 1>\ voices, ayes or noes, in which case he should declare how he thinks it is cai lied, or the vote may betakej. by a division when ever any member desires that it is to be so taken, whether before or after it has been taken by voices, ami whether before or after the Governor or pro- siding member has di claied how he thinks it was enrried.

(a) When the vote is taken by a division, the division decides the question, otherwise the Govern >r or pn siding member's declaiation decides it;' when the vote is taken by a division the Governor or presiding member shall first desire the "Ayes" to stand up when the cleik shall record their names, and then the ' Governor or presiding member shall desire the " Noes" to stand up, when the clerk shall record their names ; and the clerk shall then hand the list of ayes and noes to the Governor or presiding member, who shall read the names in each list respectively, and declaring the respective numbers shall pronounce the result.

^Method of putting 10. When an amendment to a question is proposed and seconded, the ^ Amendments. Governor or presiding member shall put the question of the amendment in^Y

this wise—That the words of the question stand as in the original motion ; *

which, if it be decided in the affirmative, will throw out all amendments ; and he shall then put the original motion to be affirmed or negatived. If the 1st Question, which would preclude all amendments be negatived, then in case only one amendment has been proposed and seconded, he shall put the ques¬ tion as if proposed to be amended ; but in case more amendments than one have been proposed and seconded, he shall put the question of amendments seriatim and in order of their having been proposed; and when any one amendment is affirmed, all other amendments shall bo thereby negatived, and the Governor or presiding member shall then put the motion, as so amended, < to te affirmed or negatived.

'Method of putting 11. When a bill is in committee, each clause shall be put from the chair, vClaus«B. without motion, by this question :—" That this clause shall stand part of the

Bill;" and the clause shall be treated as a motion, except that a clause may be amended portion by portion, the earlier amendments having precedence «f the

•later. A decision on an earlier portion of a clause shall not bar an amend- y<



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"meat of a later portion, but a decision on a later portion of a clause shall bait »ll amendments of an earlier portion, and if an amendment of a later poitiod of a clause, inconsistent with any decision come to upon an earlier portion of the clause, be proposed, such an amendment cannot be put. And no amend¬ ment of a later clause in a bill can be put which may be inconsistent with any earlier clause as it has been passed. And, if by inadvertency any such incon¬ sistent amendment be put and carried, it must at any time be struck out by the Governor or presiding member, when discovered and brought to the notice of the chair.

12. In filling up blanks in bills, and in putting questions of amendments Filling blanksi respecting amounts of money or periods of time, the question of the lowest amount of money or the shortest period of time shall be put first.

13. When the Council is adjourned before the business set down in the Business after, »ud orders of the day is disposed of, the remaining business shall not drop, but ̂ otlonls

for ad- »ha)l be resumed before all other business at the next meeting.

(a) If in the course of a debate a motion that the Council or the debate be adjourned be put and negatived, the same motion cannot be repeated in the course of that debate.

14. The Governor or presiding member shall have power to adjourn the Governor or Pre- business before the Council whenever he may think fit, even though a mem- »ldlng Member ber speaking may not have finished his speech at the time. When the busi- '

blme_ "iiess is so adjourned it shall be resumed at the point where it is left off, befoie all other business at the next meeting.

15. Unless otherwise ordered, the proceedings of the Legislative Council Proceedings public shall be open to the public during any meeting of such Council.

16. An order of the day, shewing the business to be brought forward at Order of the Day each meeting, shall be prepared by the Clerk of the Council, under the in¬ structions of the Governor or presiding member, a copy whereof shall be de¬ livered to each member. The minutes sf Council, after confirmation, may be printed, in which case a printed copy thereof shall be furnished to each member.

17. Every member shall have a seat and desk reserved for him ; the seats Seats. shall be arranged to the ri«ht hand and to the left hand of the chair alter¬ nately, in order of precedence.

18. The Lieut.-Governor may convene a session of the Council at any Governor or Pre* time ; and he may prorogue a session at any time, by announcing such »idmg Member piorogation himself in Council or by written message. _ "roroguYsession

(a) In the course of a session the Lieut.-Governor may summon a Council, at any timei although the C-vmeil rmv b- standing ndjonrned, by lending a written sum- %. mons to the address of each member.



Suspension of SiiU'ling Ordurs

Ordinancea affect¬ ing private in¬ terests.

Council to decide whether notice sufficient.

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19. Any member ot the Council may move at any time, that the standing, orders of the Council for the ordinary conduct of business be suspended; when if by a resolution of the majority of the members present, and with the consent of the Governor or presiding member, such motion be carried, a bill may be brought in, may be read three times, and passed into law at one sit¬ ting of the Council.

20. No ordinance affecting the interests of any private person «r persona, Bhall be introduced or read before the Council, unless the member desiring to introduce the measure shall have left with the clerk of the Council a statement duly declared to either by himself or by some other person of good repute, before a Justice of the Peace, and which statemeat shall set forth the names of the persons interested, the nature of such interests, and the mode adopted in giving notice of such proposed ordinance.

21. The Couneil shall decide whether such notice is or is not sufficient, or may define what course shall be adopted to constitute a sufficient notice.

Passed in Council, the 27 th day of December 1877.

K. W. Hablkt, Lt.-Governor.

T). G. Gam aw at, Cltrk to the Legislative Council.

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standing rules and orders of the legislative council of grenada and its dependencies

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