THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER.

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The Clerks of Parliament sit at the Table of the House of Lords during the debates, and assist inthe reading of petitions and other business.

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Bod has the charge of the chamber in which the Peers sit duringthe Session of Parliament: he is sent to summons the Members of the House of Commons to the presenceof the King or Queen on state occasions in the House of Lords . He is called Black Bod, from the blackstaff or rod, about three feet long, tipt with silver, and gilt with the king’s arms at one end, and a lioncouchant at the other end, and a gilt knob in the middle, which he carries in his hand: he is always a personof quality, and horn the king’s subject, and if not a knight, is made one upon admission to this office,and hath his office by patent; the first grant of it beginning in the reign of King Henry VIII .

“ Before the sitting of Parliament he observes the Lord Great Chamberlain’s directions, in takingcare that the House he fitted with all things for the reception of the king and those who sit there.

“ His employment also is to introduce Lords into that House . And after that House is sat, hehath employments concerning the commitment of delinquents, etc.

“ He has a seat allowed him, hut without the bar; and to ease him more in these and many otheremployments, he has an usher to assist him, called the Yeoman Usher; also door-keepers, etc. He hasa residence in the Palace .”

The Sergeant-at-Arms attends the House of Lords , and carries the mace before the Speaker, whetherhe he the Lord Chancellor or not, within the Lords ’ House up to the very chair of state, and after he hasmade his obeisances, he lays it down on the first woolsack by the Speaker, and so departs till theSpeaker has occasion for him again upon the rising of the House .

The Speaker of the House of Commons is also allowed a residence in the Palace of Westminster , hislaborious functions requiring his almost constant presence in the House of Commons . The Speaker neverquits the chair whilst the House of Commons is sitting, except when the House goes into committee, andthen he quits the chair, which is assumed by the chairman of committees, who is a Member selected tothat office. The Speaker then can act, speak, and vote like an ordinary Member; but in other divisionson any question, he only gives the casting vote when the numbers are even. The numerous officersbelonging to the House of Commons are likewise accommodated with apartments in which to conduct thebusiness of their several departments.

There are three Table Clerks, who sit at a table in front of the Speaker during the time that theMembers of the House of Commons are engaged in debate or in committee.

Irregular as was the whole and extensive pile of buildings, comprehending Westminster Hall, theCourts of Law, and the two Houses of Parliament , the official residences of their officers, with theaccommodation of the coffee-houses, dining-rooms, etc., the communications with each other were soconvenient, that the Speaker went in state from his own dwelling to the House of Commons ; and theLords and Commons conferred in the Painted Chamber, as readily as if their Houses were beneath thesame roof. But this line of communication, nevertheless, had its defects, and they seem to have attractedthe notice of Sir John Soane , the eminent architect, who, in his work entitled “Designs for Public and