3
A.—6,
Standing Orders 115 and 116 prevent any debate on questions seeking information. By Standing Orders 284 and 380, there can be no debateon the Order of the Day being read for the consideration of any Bill, or other matter (not being connected with the Estimates) on which progress has been reported, and leave, given to sit again. By the practice of the House, no debate is allowed in Committee on the motions, " That the Chairman report progress," or " That the Chairman leave the chair."
TASMANIA. There is no rule of the House which, like the cloture of the French Legislature, provides a means of stopping discussion arbitrarily whilst a member is addressing the House. This can only be effected by the other members leaving the chamber, and thus forcing a " count out."
VICTOEIA. In the session of 1875-76, Sir James McCulloeh carried a new Standing Order (limited in its operation to that session) " for the purpose of enabling the majority of the Assembly, or of the Committee of the whole House, to resolve that the question under discussion be at once put for decision." No Standing Order having a similar object has since been adopted by the Assembly. During 1875-76, the question "That the motion be now put," was, as explained by the Clerk, "proposed seven times in the House, on three of these occasions by members who had previously opposed its adoption. On one, it was negatived, on another it was carried in the affirmative without a division, and on one it was carried on a division. Of the other four occasions, one was negatived, one carried without a division, and two were carried on division. In Committee of the Whole, the motion was proposed twelve times, on five of these occasions by members who had opposed the adoption of the Standing Order. In four instances it was carried without division, and in the fifth the motion was negatived on division ; of the other seven occasions, two were carried without division, and five were carried upon division."
QUEENSLAND. No method, other than those known to and in practice by the House of Commons, of abridging or summarily terminating discussion, is in force in the Legislative Assembly.
NEW ZEALAND. With regard to the second inquiry, as to abridging or summarily terminating debate, there is now under the Standing Orders of the House, no means of doing so. In the first code of Standing Orders framed by the House, there were the following: — " 13. Any member may, at any stage of a debate, move that the House do at once divide upon the question in debate, and such motion, if seconded, shall be put from the chair without discussion, so soon as the member then in possession of the House shall have concluded his address. " 14. If the question for division be carried, the motion previously under debate shall be immediately put from the chair, without further discussion; but, if the question for division be lost, debate on the previous motion shall be resumed where it was interrupted." In 1863, these rules were taken advantage of to terminate a debate on the question of the removal of the seat of Government; but subsequently, in the same session, a proposal to expunge them from the Orders of the House was agreed to without a division. In 1877, a motion proposing that a member should not be permitted to address the House for a longer time than twenty minutes, was rejected.
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. [Extracted from paper presented to the Imperial Parliament, " Reports respecting the Practice and Eegulations of Legislative Assemblies in Foreign Countries." C.-2753, 1881.]
AUSTEIA-HTTNGAEY. 1. The Eeichseath and the Delegation". In each of these three Assemblies, "If the President finds it necessary to call a speaker back to the question repeatedly, he may stop the speech. If he has to call a speaker to order because the matter of his speech is objectionable in itself, as an offence against morality, propriety, or law (that is to say, for the use of language which, out of the House, would be punishable by law), he may at once silence him." In each House of the Reichsrath, "The President may put a motion to close the debate to the vote at any time, and a simple majority suffices to carry it. This must be done, however, without interruption to any speech in actual course of delivery. When a vote to close the debate is passed, each party, for and against the proposition under discussion, shall choose one member to make a final speech for it. If, however, after these two speeches, any member of the Government rises, the debate shall be considered to be re-opened. There are also rules, applicable to both Houses, for shortening procedure in urgent affairs." 2. Hungabian Diet (Lowek Chambee). There is no cloture. " The President alone has the right to interrupt the member speaking, or to remind .him that he has deviated from the subject. If a member, having so been called upon twice, still continues to disregard the President's ruling, the President can order him to discontinue his speech."
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