before the house within one hour after to the appoint. if select com mittee inform the house of their non-appearance be fore such committce to prosecute peti tion; or if penewed within tition not re four sitting days after commence ment of every committee ap session until 28 Gco. 3.c.52. tioner or petitioners, who shall have entered into such recognizance as aforesaid, shall not appear before the house by himself or themthe time fixed selves, or by his or their counsel or agents, for preceding within one hour after the time fixed, in pursuFient of a select ance of the above-recited acts, and of this act, or for calling in the respective parties, their counsel or agents, for the purpose of proceeding to the appointment of a select committee; or if the select committee, appointed in pursuance of the said acts, and of this act, for the trial of such petition, shall inform the house that such person or persons did not appear before the said committee, by himself or themselves, or by his or their counsel or agents, to prosecute their said petition; or if such person or persons shall neglect to renew their said petition within four sitting days after the day of the commencement of every session of the same parliament, subsequent to that in which such petition was first presented, and until a select committee shall have been appointed for trial of the same, or until the same shall have been withdrawn by the permission of the house, in every such case such person or persons shall be held to have made default in his or their said recognizance; and the speaker of the house of commons shall thereupon certify such recognizance into the court of exchequer, and shall also certify that such person or persons have made default therein, and such certificate shall be conclusive evidence of such default, and the recognizance being so certified shall have the same effect as have the same if the same were estreated from a court of law : estreated from provided always, that such recognizance and a court of law. certificate shall, in every such case, be delivered and certificate by the clerk or clerk assistant of the house of pointed, or until petition withdrawn, speaker to serzance into the exchequer, and fault, whereof tify recogni also such de certificate to be conclusive evidence, and recognizance so certified to effect as if Recognizance commons, into the hands of the lord chief baron 23 Geo. 3. c.52. of the exchequer, or of one of the barons of the to be delivered exchequer, or of such officer of the court of by the clerk exchequer as shall be appointed by the said the exchequer. court to receive the same. assistant into to be excepted recited acts. § 10. "And whereas, by several provisions Good Friday "contained in the above-recited acts made in the from the regn"tenth and eleventh years of the reign of his lations of the present majesty, Sunday and Christmas-day "are excepted from the general regulations of "of the said acts;" be it hereby enacted, that in every such case, Good Friday shall also be excepted therefrom, in the same manner as if the same had been specially excepted in the said acts. preceding shall not be 100 pleted, the or § 11. And be it also enacted, that if, on the If on the day day immediately preceding any of the three fol- Christmaslowing days, that is to say, Christmas-day, day, &c. there Whitsunday, or Good Friday, after reading members prethe order of the day for taking any such petition excused can as aforesaid into consideration, it shall be found not be con that there are not one hundred members pre- der for taking sent, or that the number of forty-nine mem- any seei bers, not set aside or excused, cannot be com- sideration, and pleted, it shall and may be lawful for the house, also the house, if they shall think fit, any thing in the above-may be adrecited acts to the contrary notwithstanding, to rumber of direct that the said order shall be adjourned for days. any number of days, and the house shall then immediately be adjourned to the hour and day to which such order shall be so adjourned. tion into con journed for any 42. § 4.) § 12. "And whereas it is enacted, by the (11 Geo. 3. c. said act passed in the eleventh year of the On days ap"reign of his present majesty, that on the day pointed for 23 Geo. 3. c. 52. " taking peti tions into consideration, reports from select committees, &c. may be received, &c. previous to der of the day; reading the or appointed for taking such petition into con"sideration, the house shall not proceed to any "other business whatsoever, except the swearing of members, previous to the reading of the "order of the day for that purpose;" be it hereby enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for the house, previous to reading such order, to receive any report from any select committee appointed in pursuance of the aboverecited acts, or of this act, and to enter the same upon their journals, and to give the necessary orders and directions thereupon; and that previous to reading the said order, the clerk may be altered of the crown may be admitted to alter or amend any return, in pursuance of an order made on a preceding day, or on that day; and also, that it shall and may be lawful for the house, previous to reading the said order, to postpone the same, for the purpose of attending his majesty, or his majesty's commissioners, in the house of lords, in consequence of any message from his majesty, or from his majesty's commissioners, signified to the house in the usual manner. also returns or amended, &c. order may be postponed for the purpose of attending his majesty or his in the house of commissioners lords. Geo. 3. c. 1. and 36 Geo. 3. c. 59.) If petitioners do not appear fixed for ap committees, the order for 13. And be it also enacted, that if, within within an hour one hour after the time fixed in pursuance of after the time the above-recited acts, and of this act, for pointing select calling in the respective parties, their counsel or agents, for the purpose of proceeding to the appointment of a select committee, the petitioner or petitioners, or some one or more of them, who shall have signed any such petition, shall not appear by himself or themselves, or by his or their counsel or agents, the order for taking ceeded upon. such petition into consideration shall thereupon be discharged, and such petition shall not be any further proceeded upon in the manner dis rected in the above-recited acts, and in this act. taking such petitions into consideration to be discharged, and petition no further pro within such time; before the petition being §14. And be it enacted, that if, within one hour 28 Geo. 3. c.52. after the time so appointed as aforesaid, the sit- If sitting mem ting member or sitting members, or other party ber, or other or parties opposing the petition, shall not appear party opposing by himself or themselves, or by his or their coun- not appear sel or agents, or if, at the time so appointed as withi aforesaid, there shall be no party before the house or if no party opposing the petition, the house shall proceed to appoint a select committee, to try the merits of committee to such petition, in the following manner; (that is to the place of a be appointed; say) that the names of forty-nine members shall be party opposing drawn, in the manner prescribed in the above-re- supplied by the cited acts, but in reducing the list of such names to clerk, &c. thirteen, the place of a party opposing the peti- off names as tion shall be supplied by the clerk appointed to herein; attend the said committee, who shall, as often as it shall come to his turn, as supplying the place of the party opposing the petition, to strike out a name, strike out that name which then shall be first in the said list; and in every case where the party opposing the petition would be empowered, by the above-recited acts, to nominate one member to be added to the who is to strike a nominee to said thirteen, the said thirteen shall, from among noming the persons present in the house at the time of the 13, drawing the names of the members, choose one person to supply the place of the member to have been so nominated, in the same manner as is directed by the above-recited act made in the (as under 14 eleventh year of his majesty's reign, in the case Geo. S. c. 42. where there are more than two parties on distinct interests. § 6.) ducing the list § 15. And be it further enacted, that the The aforegoing same method of reducing the list of members method of redrawn to thirteen, and of nominating a member to 13, and ap to be added to the thirteen remaining on the pointing no mince, to be followed when 28 Geo.3.c.32. said list, shall be respectively followed, whenever any party shall waive his right of striking any party shall off names from the said list, or of nominating a waive his right member to be added to the said thirteen. to do it. attending the prevaricating, &c. Witnesses not § 16. And be it further enacted, that if any select commit person summoned to attend the said select comtee, or giving mittee by the warrant of the speaker of the said false evidence, house, or by order of the said committee, shall disobey such summons, or shall give false evidence, or prevaricate, or otherwise misbehave in giving, or in refusing to give, evidence before the said committee, the said committee shall have power, by a warrant to be signed by the chairman, and directed to the serjeant at arms attending the house of commons, or to his deputy or deputies, to commit such person (not being a peer of the realm or a lord of parliament) to the custody of the said serjeant, without bail or mainprize, for any time not exceeding twenty-four hours if the house shall then be sitting, or if not, then for a time not exceeding twenty-four hours after the hour to which the house shall then be adjourned. to be committed as herein. § 17. "And whereas it is enacted by the said "act made in the tenth year of his majesty's reign, that if more than two members of the "said select committee shall, on any account, "be absent therefrom, the said select committee "shall adjourn in the manner in the said act "directed, and so from time to time, until thir"teen members are assembled; and that no such "determination as in the said act is mentioned "shall be made, nor any question be proposed, "unless thirteen members shall be present; and "that no member shall have a vote on such de |