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Powers and Privileges of the House.
The House of Commons possesses the power
of expelling members for offences calculated to
bring discredit upon Parliament : such offences are
forgery, fraud, corruption, and other offences
against the House itself. Contempts against the
authority of the House, whether by members or
others, can be punished by the House of Commons,
which exercises the power of committing persons
to prison for any such offences as disobedience of
its orders ; indignities offered by libellous reflections
 upon the House; interference with or libels
against individual members. Members are not
liable, for any language used in Parliament, to the
ordinary tribunals, but only to the House itself.
No member can be detained by any civil process
while going to, attending, or returning from the
House ; but these rules do not extend to protect
members against a criminal process.

The Business of the House.

The House is presided over by a member
chosen by the House of Commons and approved
by the Crown. He is called the Speaker. His
duties are to keep order, decide all disputed points
of procedure, regulate the order in which members
address the House, and supervise the voting of the
House. If votes are equal in any case, he gives
the casting vote, but otherwise he does not vote.
The Speaker generally holds office from Parlia-