158 THE METHOD OF LEGISLATION. 
Committee of the whole, the Commons instead of com- 
mitting the bill have had it read at length’. Mr Burinot® 
suggests that this practice has been followed only in a few 
cases where there was no wish to introduce amendments. 
Assuming that the House is going into Committee on 
the bill the procedure is as follows. 
Commit- When the order for the day for the Committee is reached, 
see of the as 7 . z 
whole. and it is desired to have any “Instructions” given to the 
Committee, a motion to that effect should then be made. 
The object of such instructions is to confer on the Committee 
some power it would not otherwise possess. 
If no motion is made for instructions, the Speaker puts 
she question “that I do now leave the chair,” on which a 
debate may ensue... When the House finally resolves it- 
self into Committee, the Speaker leaves the chair, and there 
being no permanent Chairman of Committees as in England 
he in accordance with the standing orders calls on some 
member to take the chair. The bill is then considered 
clause by clause, the preamble and title being last con- 
sidered®. At any time new clauses may be considered and 
amendments though not within the scove and title of the 
hill* may be introduced. 
After all the clauses have been considered the Chairman 
makes a report to the House. 
The bill is usually taken into consideration at once, and 
a time is appointed for the third reading. The English 
practice of amending a bill at this stage is usual in the Senate 
out it has not been adopted in the Commons, though the 
bill may be recommitted with or without limitations. 
Third Third Reading. On the third reading in the Commons 
Reading. the English practice is adopted of not allowing any amend- 
ment except mere verbal ones, though in former years 
substantial changes were sometimes introduced at this 
t Can. Com. J. 1867—8, 37, 226, 314. 2 Burinot, p. 509. 
3 Com. 8. O. 45. 4 Burinot, p. 543. 
Report.