156 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

of the process, may marvel that any laws are made at all. Yet
they are made, by the hundred, every Session, and this becomes
easier to understand when the methods of "applying the Closure"
—i.e., bringing a debate to an end—are studied. The simplest
form of Closure is for a Member to rise and move that the question
be now put. If the Speaker approves, he may allow the House
to vote on this motion; if it is carried and at least 100 Members
are voting for it, the debate ends and a vote is taken on the matter
under discussion. When the Government have a long Bill going
to its Committee' stage, they may, by a majority vote of the House,
impose a time-table which requires that at a fixed time the vote
shall be taken on, say, all Clauses up to Clause 20; at another
fixed time, on all Clauses up to Clause 40, and so on. This
''Guillotine" enables the Government to know in advance when,
a Bill will be finished; but it restricts debate, and the Govern-
ments proposal to use it may be vigorously, though unsuccessfully
contested by the minority. When the Guillotine is used, the
House may take so long discussing Clause x that they have
to vote on Clauses 2 ,to 20 without any discussion. Speed and
concentration on what is most important may be combined if
the Home permit the drastic "Kangaroo" to be used; the
Speaker or Chairman may then pick out from a mass of amend-
ments those which he thinks most suitable for debate; the
remainder are ignored.

Only a Government which possesses a clear majority can be sure
of getting permission to use these methods; but a resolute use
of them makes it possible to pass a Bill through all its stages
in a few days, or, by suspending Standing Orders, as little as
half an hour. If a great emergency arose—war, or widespread
disorder due to economic distress—the Government could
quickly use its majority to pass laws giving it .all the necessary
powers, in addition to those it possesses under the Emergency
Powers Act, 1920. A Government which lacked the people's
confidence would, no doubt, hesitate before attempting to
steam-roller Parliamentary opposition; but there is nothing