Publishers Comments

The radicalism of Committee of the Whole is often purposely overlooked: that a deliberative body need not labor for a moment under officers or rules not of its own making. 

Using a play on words, General Robert suggests an assembly has no choice but to accept as chairman of the committee whomever its regular presiding officer selects.  In British parlance--which Robert adopts, then fails to follow--"calling someone to the chair" means nominating him or her.  If not satisfied with the presiding officer's nomination for chairman of the committee, any member can "call" someone else to the chair.  In such event, there must be a vote to determine whom the committee of the whole will "call" to its chair (i.e., choose to preside). 

Mason's Manual skirts closer to the truth, when the authors note, "The appointment of the chair of the committee of the whole by the presiding officer is USUALLY accepted."  [emphasis added] 

In fairness to General Robert's successors, however; RONR, since its 1970 inception, has mentioned the practice in the US House of Representatives of allowing a 100-member quorum in committee of the whole, compared with the majority quorum required by the US Constitution for the full House to act. 

Though the British House of Commons experimented with huge committees from the first parliament of James I, which convened 19 March 1603; the first recorded use of a Committee of the Whole House occurred in the House of Lords, NOT the House of Commons, on 1 December 1606.  Committees of the whole are the authors of our liberties, which we enjoy under limited governments--governments necessarily having to be bound down by law, in order for there to be any room, any "space," for the liberties of their people. 

Committees of the whole perform their ancient functions still, and are available whenever a body needs to escape the constraints of its officers and rules--especially if those officers or rules were imposed from the outside, and not chosen or adopted by the body itself. 

We propose honoring the invention, and now the institution, of Committee of the Whole, whose Quadricentennial we are fast approaching.  Perhaps a couple pages on the OAP website might be appropriate.  Posted, readers will find passages from Luther Cushing's, "Law and Practice of Legislative Assemblies"; and Elizabeth Read Foster's, "The House of Lords, 1603-1649,"--in addition to some thoughts of my own, and any contributions other OAP members may wish to make.   

To kick off the Quadricentennial festivities for Committee of the Whole, one of our directors has begun using a footer on his stationery, the text of which reads as follows: 

 C o m m i t t e e   o f   t h e   W h o l e
400 years of ensuring member control of officers, rules and procedure
Q u a d r i c e n t e n n i a l   •   1 6 0 6   -   2 0 0 6
https://www.angelfire.com/theforce/committeeofthewhole