Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
WHIP
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: WAT-WIL
del.icio.us it!
|
WHIP , in See also:general, an See also:instrument for striking, usually consisting of a handle of a flexible nature with a lash attached (see WHIP-PING, below). In See also:English See also:parliamentary usage, a " whip " is a member (or members) chosen by the See also:leader or leaders of a See also:political party for the See also:special See also:duty of securing the attendance of the other members of that party on all necessary occasions, the See also:term being abbreviated from the whipper-in of a See also:hunt. The name is also given to the See also:summons urging members of the party to attend. Whips are, of course, always members ofparliament, and for the party in See also:power (i.e. the See also:government) their services are very essential, seeing that the See also:fate of an important measure, or even the existence of the government itself, may depend upon the result of a See also:division in the See also:House. Where the See also:majority of the party in power is not large it is very necessary that there should always be at See also:hand a sufficient number of its supporters to make up a majority, and without the assistance of the whips it would be impossible to secure this. The See also:chief whip of the government holds the See also:office of patronage secretary to the See also:treasury, so called because when offices were freely distributed to secure the support of members, it was his chief duty to dispose of the patronage to the best See also:advantage of his party. He is still the channel through which such patronage as is See also:left to the See also:prime See also:minister is dispensed. He is assisted by three junior whips, who are officially appointed as junior lords of the treasury; their salaries are £r000 a See also:year each, while the patronage secretary has a See also:salary of £2000. The parties not in office have whips who are unpaid. Attendance of members is primarily secured by lithographed notices sent by the whips to their following, the urgency or importance of the See also:notice being indicated by the number of lines underscoring the notice, a four-See also:line whip usually signifying the extremest urgency. The whips also arrange for the " pairing " of such of the members of their party who See also:desire to be absent with those members of the opposition party who also desire to be absent. The chief whips of either party arrange in consultation with each other the leading speakers in an important debate, and also its length, and give the See also:list of speakers to the See also:speaker or chairman, who usually falls in with the arrangement. They take no See also:part in debate themselves, but are constantly See also:present in the House during its sittings, keeping a See also:finger, as it were, upon the See also:pulse of the House, and constantly informing their leader as to the See also:state of the House. When any division is regarded as a strictly party one, the whips See also:act as tellers in the division. An interesting See also:account of the office of whip is given in A. L. See also:Lowell's Government of See also:England (1908), vol. i. c. See also:xxv. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] WHIG PARTY |
[next] WHIPPING, or FLOGGING |