Recent and Pending Constitutional Changes in England

Extract

There are two obvious reasons for welcoming a new and revised edition of Sir William Anson's “Law and Custom of the Constitution.” The first edition was issued twenty-four years ago. The preface is dated March, 1886; so that the book must have been passed for the press within a few months after the first general election that followed the extension of the franchise and the redistribution of seats due to the legislation of 1884 and 1885. In the intervening years—1885–1909—there have been great changes in the general political conditions of England—changes which mainly affect the constituencies. There have also been large additions to the permanent work of many of the state departments—notably the home office, the local government board, the board of trade, the department of education, and the department of agriculture. Moreover resulting from these additions to the permanent work of the state departments and the increasing complexity of political conditions in the constituencies, there have been sweeping changes in the procedure of the house of commons—changes which by 1909 had made the cabinet practically dominant in that chamber.