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House of Assembly, and the King presided, as at a
Great Council, * Two important changes subsequently
 took place—one, the separation of some of
the chief officers of state from the Great Council, so
as to form a smaller council, or “ King’s Council 3"
the other, the separation of the lesser peers, that is,
the poorer and less important ones, from the richer
and more eminent ones. By this separation a
Second Chamber, or new House of Assembly, was
created, which was the beginning of the present
House of Commons. Later on, only a few of the
smaller “barons” or « knights,” that is, the smaller
tenants of land from the Crown were chosen to
represent the rest, and later on, that is, in the year
1265, boroughs or towns were permitted to be represented
 by members in the House of Commons,
as well as the Counties or County Divisions.
At the present day very little business is done
in the House of Lords, though the consent of the
House is needed for any Bill to become law. Sometimes
 Bills are introduced in the House of Lords,
but never Bills relating to taxation. Some members
 of the Cabinet are invariably chosen from
among the members of the House of Lords.
Up to quite recently the House of Lords was
the highest Court of Appeal in the country, but
these ‘powers have been abolished. The only
judicial functions now reserved to the House of
Lords are in cases of impeachment and the trial of
a peer for treason or felony.