Swift and the Stamp Act of 1712

PMLA ◽  
1916 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-263
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Stamp Duty ◽  
Stamp Act

In a debate, December 22, 1819, in the House of Commons on the Newspaper Stamp Duties Bill, Sir James Mackintosh, speaking of the passage of the original act of 1712, said: “Swift—being then a distinguished Tory, suggested the first idea of a stamp duty for the avowed purpose of preventing publications against the government,—Swift, that parricide who endeavored to destroy that very press to which he owed so much, to which he owed all his fame, and at that very moment all his preferment.”

The Arthur Crawford Scandal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Metelits
Keyword(s):  
Retirement Age ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Government Service ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
High Court ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Receive

The Arthur Crawford Scandal explores how nineteenth century Bombay tried a British official for corruption. The presidency government persuaded Indians, government officials, to testify against the very person who controlled their career by offering immunity from legal action and career punishment. A criminal conviction of Crawford’s henchman established the modus operandi of a bribery network. Subsequent efforts to intimidate Indian witnesses led to litigation at the high court level, resulting in a political pressure campaign in London based on biased press reports from India. These reports evoked questions in the House of Commons; questions became demands that Indians witnesses against Crawford be fired from government service. The secretary of state for India and the Bombay government negotiated about the fate of the Indian witnesses. At first, the secretary of state accepted the Bombay government’s proposals. But the press campaign against the Indian witnesses eventually led him to order the Government of India, in consultation with the Government of Bombay, to pass a law ordering those officials who paid Crawford willingly, to be fired. Those whom the Bombay government determined to be extorted were not to be fired. Both groups retained immunity from further actions at law. Thus, Bombay won a victory that almost saved its original guarantee of immunity: those who were fired were to receive their salary (along with periodic step increases) until they reached retirement age, at which time they would receive a pension. However, this ‘solution’ did little to overcome the stigma and suffering of the fired officials.

Temporal comparisons, historical semantics of interaction and ‘post-war consensus’ in British Parliament: Studying time references in a deliberative environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 0961463X2110212
Author(s):  
Kirill Postoutenko ◽  
Olga Sabelfeld
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Temporal Semantics ◽  
Sociopolitical Environment ◽  
Social Time ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Historical Semantics ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Concepts ◽  
The Government ◽  
Post War

This article aims to demonstrate that the transition from the mainstream narrative to the interactional history of concepts promises tangible benefits for scholars of social time in general and temporal comparisons in particular. It is shown that the traditionally close alignment of narration with the production of historical consciousness at various levels hinders the study of time as a semantic variable perpetually contested, amended and upheld across society. Alternatively, the references to time made in public settings, allowing for more or less instant reactions (turn-taking) as well as expression of dissenting opinions (stance-taking), offer a much more representative palette of temporal semantics and pragmatics in a given sociopolitical environment. In a particularly intriguing case, the essentially deliberative venue where contestation is supported by both institutional arrangements and political reasons (British House of Commons) is put to test under circumstances commonly known as ‘the post-war consensus’ – the unspoken convention directing opposing political parties to suspend stance-taking regarding the past actions of the government during WWII, its immediate aftermath and its future prospects. As a reliable indicator of this arrangement, the contestation of temporal comparisons between relevant pasts and futures is tested in oppositions reflecting party allegiances (Conservatives vs. Labour vs. Liberals) and executive functions (government vs. opposition) between 1946 and 1952. It is shown that, notwithstanding the prevalence of non-contested statements aimed at preserving interactional coherence and pragmatic functionality of the setting, the moderately active contestation of the adversary’s temporal comparisons in the House of Commons at that time helped all parties, albeit to a different degree, to shape their own political and institutional roles as well as to delegitimize their respective adversaries.

In Favour of Keeping Sunday “Special”

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
Viscount Brentford
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Mercy Killing ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Opposition

When the Shops Bill was defeated at its Second Reading in the House of Commons in the early hours of 15 April 1986, Mrs Thatcher is believed to have said that a “mercy killing” had been performed. The Bill had run into considerable difficulty under a weight of public opposition, coming at the time of some disarray in the Government, following the Westland and Leyland controversies and the resignation of two Cabinet Ministers. It was only the second time since 1924 that a Government Bill had been defeated at Second Reading, and was caused by 72 Government backbenchers defying a three-line whip and voting with the opposition.

The Franklin search in Parliament

Polar Record ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 32 (182) ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Stone
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Government

ABSTRACTThe record of Parliamentary proceedings relating to the Franklin search covers the period 1848–1863. The main subject of discussion was the need for the government to mount search expeditions, while topics such as rewards for successful expeditions and the question of the provision of monuments to Sir John Franklin also occupied Parliamentary time. Interest in the matter among Members of Parliament crossed party boundaries. Most of the activity was in the House of Commons rather than in the House of Lords, because the former House had control of expenditure. A further reason was that the government was more exposed to questioning in the House of Commons, because, for most of the period, the First Lord of the Admiralty was a member of that House. Lady Franklin also had a wider range of acquaintance in the House of Commons and was able to conduct a lobbying campaign using it as a medium.

Collision with the Colonies, 1765–1774

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Composite Structure ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Colonial Resistance ◽  
The Government ◽  
George Iii ◽  
Stamp Act

Burke's parliamentary career began with a major political crisis that would loom large in national debates for a further seventeen years. The rift with America represented the most dramatic controversy to emerge during the first half of the reign of George III. Colonial resistance mounted a challenge to the composite structure of the Empire and to the nature of metropolitan authority. This chapter charts Burke's response to the developing situation down to the eve of the outbreak of the war of independence. From the beginning he was wary about a contest over “rights,” pitting the claims of the colonists against the government. By December 1765, Burke had decided that the repeal of George Grenville's Stamp Act offered the only means of reconciling both sides.

Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 193-213
Author(s):  
Christopher Cochrane ◽  
Jean-François Godbout ◽  
Jason Vandenbeukel
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
National Level ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Parliamentary Democracy ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Lower House ◽  
The Government

Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature at the national level. Members of the upper House, styled the Senate, are appointed by the prime minister, and members of the lower House, the House of Commons, are elected in single-member plurality electoral districts. In practice, the House of Commons is by far the more important of the two chambers. This chapter, therefore, investigates access to the floor in the Canadian House of Commons. We find that the age, gender, and experience of MPs have little independent effect on access to the floor. Consistent with the dominant role of parties in Canadian political life, we find that an MP’s role within a party has by far the most significant impact on their access to the floor. Intriguingly, backbenchers in the government party have the least access of all.

The Mamlatdar Issue Exported

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-122
Author(s):  
Michael D. Metelits
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
Thing In Itself ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Times ◽  
Considerable Pressure

Chapter 5 traces the process by which purportedly criminal issues became political issues. The chapter therefore deals with the mechanics of mounting a successful political pressure campaign. The chapter examines the export through the slanted reporting to London by The Times of London correspondent in India. His negative opinions about the mamlatdar witnesses fed on the Bombay High Court’s efforts to get the mamlatdars fired. The ‘mamlatdar issue’ eventually came before the House of Commons and that in turn placed considerable pressure on the secretary of state for India to ‘do something’ about the mamlatdars who had confessed under oath that they had paid bribes. In fact, the ‘mamlatdar issue’ had become a thing in itself, a problem that vexed the government at all levels.

6. Parliament: Scrutiny of Policy and Administration

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Thompson ◽  
Michael Gordon
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ministerial Responsibility ◽  
The Government

Extracts have been chosen from a wide range of historical and contemporary cases to illustrate the reasoning processes of the courts and to show how legal principles are developed. This chapter examines the role, policy, and administration of Parliament. It focuses on the House of Commons, exploring the principles of ministerial responsibility and the accountability of the government to Parliament. The chapter describes various procedures and reforms of select committees and looks at activities on the floor of the House of Commons. It also considers reforms seeking to rebalance power between Parliament and the Executive, and to enhance the contribution of back-bench MPs.

10. EU Legislation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Beale ◽  
Libby Kurien ◽  
Eve Samson
Keyword(s):  
Direct Access ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the ways in which the UK Parliament formally constrains the government and engages with European Union (EU) institutions. The House of Lords and the House of Commons both have processes to ensure that legislation proposed at the EU level has been properly reviewed before it takes effect in UK law. The ‘scrutiny reserve’, which stipulates that ministers should not agree to proposals under scrutiny, is used to elicit information about the government's negotiating position. Parliament also has a role in examining EU legislation and providing direct access to European institutions. The chapter first provides an overview of the EU legislative process, focusing on three principal EU institutions: member states, the European Parliament (EP), and the European Commission. It also considers the formal role of national parliaments in the EU legislative process, the UK Parliament's scrutiny of the EU legislation and its effectiveness, and parliamentary scrutiny after Brexit.

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