LEGISLATIVE MACHINERY: PREPARATION OF BILLS.
Belfast, 3d March 1857. Sin—An idea appears to be proyalent that one of the functions of a Minister of Justice ought to be the prevention of incongruities and technical errors in legislation, by acting as an Examiner of Public Bills. I believe that we need a Minister of Justice, and also a Staff of Examiners of Public Bills : but I see no reason for uniting their functions.
• The Ministry of Justice must of course be a Department of the Executive. The business of drafting and revising acts of Parliament, on the contrary, is a matter with which the Executive has properly nothing to do ; and it ought to be done by officers forming part of the Staff of Parliament, and having their bureaux within its walls.
The Lord Chancellor ought to appoint an officer for the Lords, and the Speaker another for the Commons, who should be charged, not with the examining and revising merely, but with the drafting of all Public Bills : and a. Member of Parliament desirous of introducing a measure, instead of moving for leave to bring in it bill for the purpose, should move that the Law-officer of the House be instructed to prepare a bill for the purpose. Thus, the introducer of a measure would not be required to frame the bill, but only to frame a set of resolutions declaratory of the intent of the bill.
• Lawyers are always employed to draft bills. I only propose that what is habitually done should be recognized and done by responsible public officers. This would be a great administrative reform, and I believe also an important constitutional reform. It would do very much to restore the initiative in legislation to private Members of Parliament, which they have almost lost in consequence of the increasing complexity of our laws and administration.
Respectfully yours, J. I. M.
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