Commission.

Commission. As a commercial term, commission is sometimes taken to be synonymous with Brokerage, but there is a distinction. Brokerage is the percentage paid to a passive intermediary in a transaction, who incurs no responsibility; commission is the percentage paid to an active agent in a transaction, who usually does incur some pecuniary and always some moral responsibility.

A commission as a certificate of rank is granted by the highest authority of a state. All military and naval commissions in Britain must be signed by the sovereign: but in the United States a commission may be issued by a governor of a state as well as by the president of the republic, commissions in the volunteers (or militia) being generally granted by state governors. The appointment of justices of the peace in the United Kingdom is also made by a 'commission of the peace,' issued under the great seal. The great seal itself is in charge of a Lord-keeper, but is put 'into commission' when a change of ministers is taking place. This means that certain persons are appointed to exercise jointly, but without individual powers, the functions of the office. Another instance of the functions of a great public officer being delegated to others 'in commission' is that of the Lord High Admiral, who formerly had control of all naval affairs. This, however, is a permanent commission, although commissioners of Lords of the Admiralty change with every change of the ministry.

An office in commission is an office in suspense. Yet, curiously enough, the phrase has a directly opposite meaning in naval affairs, for when a ship is ordered to be placed 'in commission,' it means that she shall be fully equipped and prepared for active service.

Permanent commissions are also constituted, not merely for the delegation of existing duties, but also for the execution of duties with which no person had been previously charged. As instances we may take the Civil Service Commission in 1855 (see CIVIL SERVICE); the Railway Commission, appointed in 1873 to carry out the act for the better regulation of railways passed in 1854, and to otherwise act as a sort of court of arbitration or appeal in disputes between railway companies; the Irish Land Commission, appointed to carry out some of the provisions regulating the land laws in Ireland; the Crofters Commission, appointed for five years from 1886 to fix fair rents for the Scotch crofters. The members of these are nominated in terms of special acts of parliament.

Other permanent commissions are the Charity Commission, created 1853 (of four members, one of whom is unpaid), to examine into all the charities and the management of them, in England and Wales; the Commission for the management of the National Debt; the Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commission; the Land Commission of England; the Public Works Loan Commission; the Thames Conservancy Commission; and the Commission for the adjustment of Cases under Income-tax Assessments. These are all bodies commissioned to execute certain specified functions, more or less administrative, and partaking to some extent of the character of public departments.

In law, a commission may be issued by mandate of a court to take evidence from parties residing abroad or incapacitated from appearing in person. A Commission in Bankruptcy is issued for the purpose of taking charge of the effects of an insolvent for behoof of his creditors. A Commission in Lunacy is appointed by the Court of Chancery to inquire into the mental condition of an alleged lunatic whose property may be in question. There are now permanent commissioners in lunacy whose duties include visitation and supervision of asylums.

In governmental relations, commissions are sometimes constituted where Britain exercises protectorate but has not formed complete colonial establishments, as in Cyprus, South Africa (see CAPE COLONY), New Guinea, and some islands of the western Pacific. The commission in such cases is a delegation, with certain limitations, of the authority of the crown. In India (q.v.) the administrative head of a province is sometimes called chief-commissioner (assisted by district commissioners), who is responsible to the viceroy of India. Sometimes commissions are international—i.e. composed of representatives of various nations for international purposes. A conspicuous example of such was the commission in 1871 on the Alabama question (see ALABAMA); more recent was the commission for Eastern Roumelia, appointed under the Treaty of Berlin of 1878.

Again, a commission may take the form of a temporary embassy for certain specific purposes. The appointments are then made by the prime-minister and cabinet, as when Mr Gladstone was sent to the Ionian Islands in 1858, or Lord Dufferin to Egypt in 1883. Somewhat different in character was the commission given to Mr Chamberlain in 1887 to proceed to America, to confer with delegates of Canada and the United States upon matters in dispute concerning the fisheries.

In its parliamentary sense, a commission may be either Special or Royal. In the former case it is appointed usually, and in the latter case invariably, in response to a motion in one or other of the Houses. A royal commission is appointed only by the crown; but a special commission may be appointed by a department of state. The expenses of a commission of this kind are usually defrayed by the parties requiring it, but those of a royal commission are included in the estimates for the current year. The commissioners may be paid by fees regulated by government. When a commission sits in London, it has the power of authorising the payment of witnesses on the scale recognised in courts of law; but when a commission sits in the country, witnesses are not paid.

A royal commission is appointed by motion in parliament, and is issued by a royal warrant nominating certain 'trusty and well-beloved cousins and counsellors' to undertake a specified inquiry. Of such was the royal commission to inquire into the condition of the crofters (1882), which was a wholly different body from that appointed by act of parliament in 1886 to carry out certain legislative decrees. The former was one of inquiry; the latter, one of administration. The royal commissions appointed to inquire into the causes of the depression of trade (1886-87), and into the recent changes in the relative values of the precious metals (commonly called the Silver Commission), also in 1886, are among the most prominent of recent appointments of this kind.

When a royal commission is nominated by royal mandate, a secretary is appointed, and such clerical assistance as may be necessary is provided out of some of the departments. The commissioners are empowered to call and hear evidence (although not on oath), to examine documents, localities, &c. The evidence is reported in extenso—question and answer duly numbered—and is submitted, along with the formal report, to the sovereign and to parliament. The whole is then incorporated in a blue-book. The multiplication of royal and special commissions has become rather a legislative nuisance and a financial burden. Royal commissions always include members of the House of Lords or of the House of Commons, or of both.

The cost of parliamentary and royal commissions varies much. In 1896-97 the Charity Commission cost £42,869 (a small decrease on preceding year), the Civil Service Commission £39,700 (decrease). In 1888 the figures for all were:

Another kind of commission is that sometimes given to two or more judges to inquire into certain alleged crimes, such as the commission (1867-69) to inquire into the Sheffield trades-union outrages, and that (1888-90) of three judges appointed by act of parliament, to inquire into the 'charges and allegations' brought in the Times newspaper against Mr Parnell and others.

It should be added that the sovereign, who nominally presides over the annual deliberations of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, delegates the duty to a Scotch peer as Lord High Commissioner, a fresh commission being issued every year. For the ecclesiastical court created by Queen Elizabeth, see HIGH COMMISSION.