The New International Encyclopædia/Committee

COMMITTEE (Lat. committere, to intrust). A group of persons, rarely less than three, to whom an organized body, legislative or otherwise, intrusts or commits certain matters for investigation, consideration, and decision as to their meriting the attention of the whole body. A standing committee is one which exercises its functions permanently and considers all matters coming within a certain allotted sphere of action. In modern parliamentary practice, immense importance attaches to the work of standing committees; and so true is this that modern legislation has been by some termed government by committee. Almost every matter brought before such bodies as the United States Congress and the legislatures of the several States is at once referred to a standing committee, which holds meetings by itself, examines the subject closely, summons witnesses, if necessary, and at length reports back to the main body its findings and conclusions, with recommendation to act favorably or adversely. The committee usually formulates its conclusions in a bill recommended to be passed if action is thought desirable. The same procedure is followed in the British Parliament. The United States House of Representatives has at least sixty committees; the Senate about fifty; these consist of not less than three, and, except in one or two cases, not more than fifteen members. The most important committees of the House are, that of Ways and Means, which considers all matters relating to the tariff, internal taxation, and, generally, the revenues of the Government, and that of Appropriations, which deals with all estimates of appropriations to be made by Congress and the framing of bills for that purpose. Other important standing committees are those of Banking and Currency, Foreign Affairs, Patents, Pensions, Judiciary, and Railways and Canals. Similar committees exist in the British Parliament. The argument in favor of the system of committees is the impossibility of a large deliberative body's examining every matter within the scope of its action in detail; the objection to it is the possibility of more easily corrupting or deceiving a small body than a large one; but whatever be the argument against it as a matter of theory, the committee system is fully recognized as a necessity and is too firmly intrenched in parliamentary practice to be successfully argued against. A select committee is one appointed at a special time to consider and report on a given topic; when this has been done its powers and existence cease. The committee of the whole is the entire body sitting in a deliberative rather than a legislative character—for the purpose, that is, of debating and consulting upon the details of a question rather than of taking legislative action upon it. In the British House of Commons there is a regularly chosen chairman, other than the Speaker of the House, who presides over all committees of the whole; in the United States Congress any member may be chosen to preside in a committee of the whole. A joint committee is one made up of separate committees appointed by two bodies; in the United States, owing to the dual constitution of the legislatures, it is often necessary to appoint such joint committees to bring the two bodies to a mutual understanding and make harmonious action possible.

In law, a committee is a person or persons appointed by a court having equity or probate jurisdiction to take charge of the person, and manage the property and business affairs, of an individual who is legally incompetent by reason of lunacy, idiocy, or habitual drunkenness. The duties are much similar to those of a guardian of an infant, and the committee is under the supervision and control of the court appointing him. He must file inventories and accounts, maintain all necessary actions in behalf of his charge, and apply the income, and the proceeds of the property itself if necessary, to the support of the incompetent and his family. If the incompetent recovers, he may apply to the court to have the committee discharged and resume his personal freedom and the control of his property. The power of the committee ceases at the death of the incompetent, and his estate is administered in the usual manner. See Guardian; Lunatic; Habitual Drunkard; Idiocy.

The term is also employed to designate a person or persons appointed to take charge of specified matters by any body organized for governmental business or social purposes, and to make a report of the result of their efforts to the appointing power. See Legislature; Parliamentary Law.