It Depends on the Support of the Committees by the House.
Such a condition would not be possible unless Parliament was willing to leave private legislation in the main to small impartial committees, and abide by their judgment. If this were not true—and it would not be true in most other legislatures—the promoters and opponents of the bill would attempt to forestall or reverse the decisions of the committees on the floor of the House, and would try to enlist the support of the members in their favour. That is, indeed, occasionally done, and has called forth no small complaint. Perhaps the most notable instance of late years was that of the bills for the organisation of companies to supply electric power in Durham and South Wales. The bills were opposed on the ground both of public policy and of local interest, and were rejected by the House of Commons in 1899 under the powerful influence of the Association of Municipal Corporations. Public feeling was, however, aroused, and the bills were passed in 1901.
In the very nature of things Parliament must have power to overrule the private bill committees, and sometimes does so, but the permanence of the system depends upon the fact that it is not done often. The question, therefore, whether there is a growing tendency to override the committees is a very interesting one. Such meagre statistics as have been collected would appear to show that there has been a slight increase in the number of bills opposed on second and third reading, and in the number of instructions to committees that have been moved,[392:1] as well as in the amount of time spent in the House in debating these matters.[392:2] It seems, also, to be the general opinion of men in close touch with private bill practice, that the habit of overruling the committees has gained ground of late years, but fortunately not to any dangerous extent.[393:1]
FOOTNOTES:
[367:1] For the History of this subject see Clifford's "History of Private Bill Legislation."
[367:2] The distinction between public and private bills, and public and private acts is not the same. The former depends upon the nature of the procedure in Parliament; while acts are classified as (1) Public General Acts, (2) Local Acts, which have the same legal effect as public acts, but apply only to a particular locality, and may relate to an organ of local government or a company; (3) Private Acts—now few in number—which are of a personal nature, and are not taken notice of by courts unless specially pleaded. With some exceptions that will appear sufficiently in the text, the acts in classes (2) and (3) do, and those in class (1) do not, go through the procedure of private bills.
Hybrid Bills.
Cf. May, 634-43. Ilbert, "Leg. Methods and Forms," 29-32. Moreover, as measures intended primarily to affect particular places, may, on account of their far-reaching importance, be treated as public bills, so others designed for public objects may interfere in a peculiar way with private interests. Measures of either kind are sometimes, under the name of "Hybrid Bills," put through a mixed procedure. They are introduced as public bills, and then referred to a private bill committee, which is, however, larger than an ordinary committee of that kind, the members being appointed partly by the House and partly by the Committee of Selection. A procedure of this sort is required in the case of bills of the London County Council for raising loans (S.O.P.B. 194).