The Rise of the Parliamentary Counsel

SUMMARY

In this article Sir George Engle has traced the early development of the use of official Parliamentary Counsel for the drafting of government legislation. The origins are traced to a series of individual legal experts employed informally by government in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries until the formal appointment of a Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury in 1769. Following that, other major departments engaged their own Counsel until Peel decided to rationalize the system in 1841 and J.E.D. Bethune was appointed Counsel for fourteen government departments. The work of Henry Thring in developing the principles of parliamentary drafting is discussed and then the appointment of Thring to the ‘Office of Parliamentary Counsel’ in 1869, with one assistant. The institution was made permanent in 1871. The work of Thring's two successors, Henry Jenkyns and Courtnay libert and the working practices they developed arc analysed. Finally the artide summarizes the principle achievements of the Parliamentary Counsel Office over its 126 years of activity.     

The British Police Experience

[Editor's note] The following is the text Sir Eric St. Johnston delivered before the members of the Wichita Crime Commission at their 24th Annual dinner meeting on October 19, 1977. Sir Eric St. Johnston is formerly of the Chief of Scotland Yard and Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales. Among others, he is a Knight of the Order of the Thistle, holder of the Commander Order of the British Empire, the Queen's Police Medal and the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. In his text, Sir Eric mentions various similarities and and dissimilarities regarding the police practices of two countries. He is of the opinion that there are a great deal of advantages in a centralized police system as contrasted to the American counterpart. This statement is similar to the Editor's assertion made some ten years ago. [Re: “Police Reorganization As A Deterrent to Crime,” Police, Vol. 12, No. 14, March-April, 1978, pp. 73–79. See also Crime and Delinquency Abstracts, Vol. 16, National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information of the U.S. Department of HEW, Public Service, 1969, p. 589] Readers will find Sir Eric's text not only timely, stimulating and provocative, but also insightful through his comparison of his long career in English police with that of the United States' police. Certainly his remarks provide police planners and policy makers with what should be most pressing needs for combating the ever-increasing crime in England, the United States, and the world as a whole. The permission to reprint was obtained from Sir Eric by the Editor personally. The Editor wishes to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Maurice W. Corcoran, Managing Director, and his colleagues Mr. Will G. Price, Jr., President; Mr. Jay W. Swanson, Chairman of the Board; Mr. J. A. Mull, Jr., Past President; and Mr. William L. Connelly, Chairman, Annual Dinner Committee; all of the Wichita Crime Commission for their efforts and cooperation.     

China- the World＇s Trade Locomotive

CHINA has overtaken the United States to become the world＇s largest goods trading na- tion. Indeed, since the beginning of the inter- national financial crisis, increases in China＇sforeign trade have been larger than those of the Unit- ed States, EU and Japan combined.     

Why China’s Economy Will Grow Strongly in 2012

THE start of 2012 is a suitable moment to look at China’s economic prospects for the New Year. The overall outlook is clear-China’s economy will continue to grow strongly,remaining the world’s fastest growing major economy and outperforming Western pessimists’ predictions.     

Europe Needs to Learn from China

FOUR years into the international financial crisis,it’s clear that the economic policies followed in Europe to deal with the crisis have failed.Realization of this has now led to major political changes in Europe,epitomized by the outcome of the French and Greek elections.The Financial Times,one of the world’s leading newspapers,considered these events so significant that it headlined its lengthy review of them "Seven Days Which Shook Europe."A key reason Europe’s policies have failed to solve the economic problems that arose from the financial crisis is that there has been a consistent     

Economic Realities in U.S.-China Relations

ECONOMIC relations between China and the United States formed a central part of discussions during Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the U.S. Analysis of economic fundamentals shows that it is possible in principle to resolve this aspect of the international situation to mutual benefit.     

China Rightto Set Lower Growth Target

THE reduction of China’s 2012 growth target to 7.5 percent from the eight percent of recent years headlined the international media coverage of PremierWen Jiabao’s report to the National People’s Congress. The announcement was greeted with fallson international stock markets - simultaneously reflecting China’s economic weight and a misanalysis by international markets. But the lowered target,which is justified by the global economic situation,is only the tip of the iceberg of complex short- and long-term challenges China is facing in its economic policy.