| 10 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বিতীয় খন্ড CHAPTER V LEGISLATURE-UNICAMERAL OR BECAMERAL Necessity of An Upper House and its Composition. 75. In view of our conclusion that this country needs a strong central government in a quasi-federal structure, the question whether the central legislature should be unicameral or bicameral is of considerable importance. 74.1% of the opinions favor a unicameral legislature, while 25.2% support a bicameral legislature and a very small percentage of 7% arc for an advisory council. The opinion in favor of a unicameral legislature has apparently been influenced by the late Constitution, for the reaction of the witnesses, examined before us, with whom the question was discussed in all its aspects, was different. For instance, while 46.29% of the witnesses examined on this point were in favor of a bicameral legislature, 49% favored the unicameral, while 19 witnesses wanted only an advisory council at the Centre. With the last mentioned opinion we do not agree, as we consider that it is necessary to have a legislature with effective powers. As for the other question, it is significant that no great state of the present day, especially of the federal or quasi-federal pattern, is satisfied with a unicameral legislature. Lord Bryce” points out that the two defects frequently charged upon the legislative bodies are: (1) that they "contain too little of the stores of knowledge, wisdom and experience which each country possesses" and (2)............ that they are likely to be controlled by one political party "disposed to press through, in a hasty or tyrannical spirit measures conceived in the interests of that party or a particular class in the community often without allowing sufficient time for debate........ t? He suggests that, where such defects exist with little prospect of curing them by improving the directly elected legislature, a remedy may be found in an Upper Chamber. For reasons, which shall be stated at the appropriate place in the chapter dealing with the electorate, it is not possible to work representative government without political parties. The defects mentioned above do exist in an average legislature of the present day, particularly in countries like ours. As pointed out already, there is lack of public opinion which can serve as a great corrective as far as the legislature and the executive are concerned. In these circumstances, it seems to us necessary to have an Upper Chamber so constituted that it will be able to act as a check on the impetuosity of legislation by the Lower House, and also exercise a healthy influence, by its utterances, both on the members of that House and the public. When the official delegation, at its first interview, pressed for a unicameral legislature, we suggested to them that they might consider the advisability of having a House elected on the basis of functional representation, as at that stage, we thought that such a House would meet our requirements. In their further memorandum, the official delegation suggested an Upper House consisting of persons elected from special constituencies demarcated on the basis of various professions like Legal. Medical, Industry, Commerce, Labor, etc. But, in view of our conclusion in the ""Modern Democracies". Vol. II, P. 451
